The Legend of Spyro: Too Peaceful
by Jamester0091
Summary: Four years have changed Spyro, he has become colder, abandoning his freinds in search of a necklace that slowly consumes his good side. Can his freinds save him when the evil is himself?  Rated M for blood and gore
1. Chapter 1

The Legend of Spyro: too peaceful...

"What is this!" cried Malefore's deep multi-toned voice in surprise as several ghostly spirits pulled him into the crystal he had been standing on. Spyro and Cynder hovered warily nearby, watching as the Ancient Horror's paw made one final, desperate attempt at clawing for freedom, before being sucked into the crystal to be banished by the Ancestors for all eternity. They were in the centre of the splitting, crumbling earth, Spyro watched the devastation Malefore had caused worsen around him, they had failed to kill the Destroyer, merely stalling its journey around the earth, it had completed the ring of destruction and slid back into the volcano. The voice of the now deceased fire guardian Ignitus spoke into his thoughts, 'when a dragon dies, he does not truly leave this world, his spirit lives on, binding itself with nature, offering hope for the future…'. Now better understanding his place in the world, Spyro began to bind himself with the earth, using his powers to connect each and every rock to the other, the powers caused the fragments of the earth to pull back together, slotting into their original places, all attracted to ghostly remains of Spyro's powerful outburst at the centre of the earth. The two young dragons had escaped the colliding rocks, with mere seconds to spare.

Four years later…

The great cracks and abyss's that had formed when the earth had split where slowly merging, healing as the heat and pressure caused the rock at the cracks to partially liquefy, 'gluing' the earth back together again… slowly….

Meanwhile… The purple dragon tapped his claws against a wooden deck and inhaled the salty air, he was on board a cargo ship. Something had drawn him to it, he was unsure what, but with nearly three years experience of solitude, besides the company of his dragonfly brother, he had learnt to trust his instincts over anything else. He snarled silently and retreated into the shadows as he heard footsteps approach, the dragonfly followed, dimming his glow as much as he was able, a skill he had learnt in order to remain by the secretive dragon's side. Surprisingly to Sparx, Spyro had remained on board the ship for the most if its voyage since it set sail several weeks ago. There was clearly something that caught the dragon's interest here, often when he had thought they found what 'it' was, they had found nothing that interested Spyro, but yet he remained, often pacing after their many failed searches muttering to himself "it's got to be here... I felt it… I HAVE to find it..." Whatever 'it' was, they weren't leaving without it.

A cheetah guard patrolled into view, Spyro's purple scales bristled, he knew they had a keen sense of smell, it would only be so long before he would be discovered. And he most certainly did not want any witnesses, nonetheless there had been some, they had not lived for long though, he had made certain of that much. So he did not linger in any place longer than was necessary, if word got back to the commander of his where-abouts on board (though they were aware of his presence) they would begin to search in full force. He could not afford a retreat now, not when he was so close to the source of his mental distress... those sleepless nights and those disturbing dreams… when he had boarded the ship, the dreams stopped, and he could rest peacefully. He knew there was no great evil in this world anymore, in fact there was very little evil at all, and this is what unsettled Spyro greatly. His job was not over, his job was to restore balance to the world, not to take sides.

The cheetah guard unsheathed his sword, he had caught Spyro's scent, and by now, it was well known to the guards, though only ever found in faint traces to most of them, this would be the first time this guard caught Spyro's full scent, and the last. Leaping out into the open, Spyro grasped the Cheetah's leg with his jaws dragging him into the shadows, with a flick of his tail he disarmed the cheetah and covered the guard's mouth and nose with his paws while he bit into his furry throat. The cheetah gave a muffled cry of pain before convulsing several times, thirty second later, he fell limp in the purple dragon's arms. Spyro warily poked his head out of the shadows and scanned his surroundings for any presence, they were presently alone. Picking up the guard's limp body in his jaws by the torso, he cautiously made his way towards the edge of the ship. He then tossed the cheetah's body overboard and then piled rope over the bloodstains where he had bitten the cheetah's throat, though he had tried his best to stem the bleeding and avoiding blood dripping onto the deck (by sucking the blood from the wound and licking away the blood that streamed between his toes when he applied pressure to the wound).

Several hours later that night, the Cheetah's absence was noticed amongst the fellow guardsmen, perched nearby atop one of the many giant silos, Spyro groomed himself, listening to their conversations. "It's that blasted purple dragon again!" Spat one guard, "Yeah, we've lost twenty of our crew to him already this week! Why should Sparrow's disappearance be any different!" snarled another "I think that battle with Malefore knocked a few screws loose in his head" snorted the first guard. The purple dragon's scales bristled at the very mention of that name, tendrils of smoke escaped his nostrils as he began to dig his claws into the silo in anxiety. 'Ignore them, Spyro,' Sparx's voice echoed in his mind, their bond had become so strong that they could communicate telepathically, even from great distances. ' It's not worth revealing yourself now and losing everything...' The purple dragon sighed, watching his companion 'You're right... but when I find what I'm looking for, I'll torch this boat...' The dragonfly nodded in response, 'Do what you must...'


	2. Chapter 2

TLoS: too peaceful CH 2

by *JazzTheTiger

The Legend of Spyro: too peaceful… Ch 2

"We must be on our guard for the rest of this voyage, from now on all of us must travel in pairs when on board this ship" the commander's voice called out above the din of small conversations, the guardsmen nodded in response as they awaited their meals, they were in the mess hall of the ship. Spyro heard this, and sat up from his comfortable position on the roof of the building. 'We must hurry!' he said to Sparx a great urgency in his voice. He took to the skies and lazily glided above the decks, he felt the familiar pull of his item of desire, and followed it until the feeling became unbearable. He found himself circling above the Captain's cabin. 'Why didn't I think of here before!' he exclaimed, 'Oh look! We have to face a boss before we get what we want, what is with this world!' Sparx replied his voice thick with exasperation.

Spyro landed on the roof of the building, the wooden panels beneath his paws creaked from carrying his weight. He sat and waited for several minutes, looking to see if there were any patrols, none arrived. After jumping down from the roof, he tried the door handle, it was locked. He warily scanned the area again, then kicked down the door, it fell with a loud crash. Lights came on all around him. He heard the wary shouts of the nearby crew. He didn't have much time. He began to frantically search the room. Panicking because the feeling had disappeared. Then he paused and concentrated, and found that pull again, he followed it with his eyes closed.

When he opened his eyes again, he was facing the captain's desk and on that desk lay a necklace, with a amethyst crystal pendant. The pendant pulsed with a dull glowing purple light as he came closer to it. He reached for it with his paw, when a shout interrupted him. The guards had found him. Hastily grabbing the pendant, he leapt upwards, smashing through the wooden roof of the cabin. Only to fly straight into a fishing net.

The large net had been stretched out over the building in anticipation for such an escape. Spyro snarled fiercely as the Guards of various species approached him, their weapons drawn. They had sapped him of his mana the moment they had discovered of his presence several weeks back. He was surrounded. "Your net won't hold me for long!" he hissed at the commander, a creature easily confused with a cheetah, but the vivid black stripes that marked his fur defined him as a tiger, a much stronger creature, but not nearly as agile. He wore silver armor decorated with elaborate engravings, such armor was only typical of a soldier of higher status. "We were aware of that, dragon" the commander replied with a raised eyebrow. The tiger signaled to a guard behind him holding a bottle of liquid. The guard threw the bottle at Spyro, it smashed in his face and the dragon snarled in outrage, before collapsing into unconsciousness. The guard had thrown a bottle of chloroform.

Spyro woke, half a day later, his vision clouded, his throat stung as he inhaled the intoxicating chemical that had thrown him into an immediate sleep. It was not so strong now, but its presence fogged his mind. Something was poking into his paw, curiously he brought it into his vision, to see an amethyst pendant with a glow that pulsed in time with each of his heart beats. Its beauty calmed him and the pulse slowed, and slowly the fog lifted from his mind, he realised he had been captured. 'Sparx?' he called out with his mind, the dragonfly's familiar conscience reassuringly brushed against his own. Knowing that he wasn't getting off the boat without a fight, he slid the pendant over his head, the necklace sat comfortably at the base of his sat up and stretched, when he stepped forward, a force at his throat tugged him backwards. He grasped at the area of discomfort, it was a steel collar, he was chained to the room, like a dog chained to a kennel. 'This is worse than being chained to Cynder!' yelped the dragon in outrage to his dragonfly friend. The dragonfly had found his statement rather amusing.

He caught a familiar scent, it was Terrador, the earth guardian, he hadn't seen any of the guardians for three years. He had run away from the temple, their rules did not make any sense to him, they seemed so… petty. He had to wait until he was a certain 'legal' age to mate, he had learnt this rule when Cyril had caught him trying to mount Cynder. From that day on, the young dragons had been separated from each other. But that wasn't the only reason he left, the feeling that his 'job' was not finished had steadily gotten worse, it had made him uneasy and tense. He had been getting into more frequent and more violent disagreements with the guardians. Until he had left, seeking to finish whatever he had to do. He told no-one of his intentions, not even Sparx at first, but the dragonfly would keep coming back, he remained by his side, even when he killed the first innocent life. He heard the voices of the three guardians, they were here to take him back to the temple, they would make his 'job' difficult to complete. He knew he was in a lot of trouble, he knew that killing good citizens was bad, but it seemed a 'necessary evil' to him. If there weren't evil things to kill the good, who would do it?

He snarled silently, and began to tug on the chain with desperation. Setting his legs apart, he began to lean back away from the wall when the chain was taught, gritting his teeth and setting his jaw, he struggled further back, his desire to pull the chain from the wall. It was too painful, so he moved right up to the wall, and grasping the chain in his paws began to pull, he kicked the areas near the steel attachment to weaken the wood. With a loud snap, the attachment broke free of the wall, picking the length of chain up in his mouth he padded towards the doorway. 'You've got about a ten metre clearance from the building' informed Sparx, knowing that his brother was somehow free, 'That's all I need' the dragon replied. Spyro charged out into the open, and leaped into the air spreading his wings. A powerful bolt of electricity just missed his snout as he flew, he hissed in annoyance, his mouth was too full of chain to retaliate. He knew the speedy electricity guardian would be on his tail in mere moments, but he felt his mana return to him as he put distance between him and the ship. He produced a hot white flame and brought the chain up to it, and proceeded to melt it enough before snapping it away from him. Now with only a few links attached to the collar, Spyro's mouth was free. These days, producing a flame like that was easy and used very little of his mana. But Volteer had nearly reached him, he felt the air around him become electrically charged, and dove just in time to dodge yet another lightning attack. Now he was some way behind the guardian, who was having a hard time slowing down enough to turn around. He flew close to the waves, using the pockets of heat they radiated near the surface to gain extra speed, his wing tips sometimes splashing into the water. Using his most recent element wind, he created a strong air current beneath him to maintain the speed while he gained altitude, the air current quickly became of cyclonic magnitude, heat and fire engulfed Spyro as he came up underneath Volteer at an insane speed. The guardian stalled in flight and curled up in pain before falling from the sky, Spyro continued to gain altitude until he was safely hidden amongst the clouds, where he waited for Sparx to catch up.

The attack had not killed Volteer, but he was bleeding internally where the impact from Spyro had ruptured organs. Luckily Terrador and Cyril had given chase too, and rescued Volteer from the merciless ocean moments after being engulfed by the waves. There was no point chasing Spyro now, they needed to get help.

When the sun began to set, Spyro was waiting, he had been following the ship a distance, watching for the guardians, whom had left for the land to seek medical aid for Volteer as soon as they rescued him, which was several hours earlier. Spyro flew closer to the ship, now in stealth mode, if he was seen, arrows would go flying, and he could not risk getting injured this far out in the ocean. Once in range with the ship, he let loose a volley of powerful fire bombs onto the large wooden cargo ship. He quickly retreated a safe distance again and watched as the crew made feeble attempts at dousing the fires, nonetheless the ship was gradually engulfed in flames. Satisfied that the ship could not be recovered, he flew on, seeking land and a place to rest.


	3. Chapter 3

TLoS: Too Peaceful Ch3

by *JazzTheTiger

The Legend of Spyro: Too peaceful… Ch 3

By the first rays of dawn, Spyro had found the mainland. The coasts that he flew towards were edged with sharp rocks and tall cliffs, these cliffs were littered with caves. Spyro chose a cave that was well away from civilization and high enough to escape the sea spray from where the waves crashed against the cliffs. Too tired to hunt for food or gather bedding materials, he lay down and slept, the dragonfly settling between his wings.

Little did he know that the guardians had resided in the nearest town.

Terrador and Cyril stood by their injured comrade's bedside, they were in the local hospital. The yellow dragon writhed in his fitful dreams, a permanent snarl fixed upon his muzzle from the pain his injuries caused him. The small team of local doctors and nurses had done all they could within their power for the electricity guardian, but the recovery, if there was one, would be slow. He was by far the youngest of the now three remaining guardians, and he held the record for being the youngest dragon to take on the role of a guardian. After the previous electricity guardian had died in battle, Volteer had taken his place, being the last electricity dragon still alive, he did not have much choice. Now it seemed, that he would not get the chance to pass his knowledge onto the next generation of electricity dragons (if there were any). Terrador sighed sadly, one by one the many different elemental dragon races had been killed to extinction over the past century, it appeared that the mighty dragon itself was about to face extinction. The actions of past dragons (Malefore) and the now present Spyro, were only fuelling the other species hatred towards the dragons.

His thoughts were interrupted when Cynder burst into the room, everything about her posture communicated sheer exhaustion as she collapsed at the foot of Volteer's bed, panting heavily. Her arrival only mildly surprised Cyril and Terrador, they had left the worried black dragoness at the dragon temple with promises of returning with Spyro within that week. That was two weeks ago. Somehow she had received news of the electricity guardian's condition, and flown to the town without any rest. Moments later, a frustrated looking Hunter peered into the room, his gaze rested on Cynder who was still gasping for air. She glanced at him with an apologetic expression before resting her head on her paws. Hunter shook his head and motioned for Terrador to follow him outside the room.

"Do you know how she found out?" Terrador inquired. "She saw me along the trail heading into town, and asked if I had seen any of you. I tried to get her to rest a bit before going into town" sighed Hunter, "But she would hear none of it once I told her about Volteer…" Terrador gave a laugh at this, how typical of her…

By late afternoon, Spyro had woken from his sleep. His dreams had been filled with the dying screams of his victims, his thoughts wondered back to the blazing ship, the flash backs of every guard he had murdered. He began to feel weak as his past actions caught up with his conscience, he staggered over to the entrance of the cave. He remembered the guardians, how he had attacked Volteer, a sudden wave of nausea overcame him and he abruptly vomited over the edge of the cliff. 'Spyro, you okay bro?' Sparx had sensed Spyro's anguish through the energies his conscience gave off. ' There's no way he could've survived that…' sobbed Spyro. The dragon lay down in the fading sunlight and cried, knowing that there were many more who would die from his activities. Sparx settled down beside Spyro in an attempt to comfort him, knowing that he could not physically comfort his brother by holding him, he instead projected more soothing thoughts into Spyro's mind, those of their blissful past, of their imagined peaceful future. The dragon's sobs soon began to cease and a more regular breathing pattern was established. This was not the first time he had an emotional breakdown, and it would not be the last, his 'job' was slowly crushing his spirit, and his will to live on into the future, fearing that his 'job' will not end.

A silent hour passed before Sparx interrupted 'Do you want to get something to eat?' Spyro nodded in response and stood up stretching a bit. During his many journeys he had found books with spells, and even more importantly, learnt how to cast them successfully. His most used spell was a colour changing spell, using this spell he changed his purple scales into dark crimson scales. His eyes changed into a fiery orange shade and his crest took on a more rugged appearance, essentially he looked like an entirely different dragon, which was what he wanted, a disguise. The plan was for Spyro to go into town and buy himself a meal and/or supplies if anything was open at this time, while Sparx caught butterflies for himself. This was also an opportunity for him to find out what others knew of his friend's activities, he was secretly hoping to hear about Cynder.

Half an hour later he was walking down the main street of town, dragons were regular visitors in this town so no-one gave him much attention. He was heading towards the local pub when he saw a familiar black dragoness walking towards him down the same street. Initially she barely acknowledged him, but curiosity got the better of her when she got closer, mainly because he appeared to be the same age as her and indeed he was. Spyro winked at her when he saw her checking him out, she smirked in response, and swung her hips a little as they passed each other, Spyro couldn't help but look back. She had grown tall and slim since he last saw her, she had long, thin legs and a long tail, though she did not have curves like the other females he had seen (wide hips and such) she was very beautiful and moved with cat-like grace, overall she had become an elegant looking female. He grinned slyly as he continued on his way to the pub, the hub of social activity within towns.


	4. Chapter 4

As the door to the pub opened the inhabitants looked up from their drinks to gaze at the newcomer through the smoke that permeated the air. In the front were families, while in the back was the bar. Most of the customers were cheetahs and moles, while a few dragons could be seen here or there.

When the newcomer entered the building and closed the door, they could see the dragons crimson scales better without the glare from outside, and returned to their activities.

Spyro walked up to the bar and signaled to the bartender, who came over. A middle aged cheetah, whose fur was starting to gray at the muzzle, he looked at Spyro with an interested eye, because of their size, dragons always drank generously. "What can I get for you?"

"Information, actually." Spyro said. "Have there been any unusual events lately?"

"Who wants to know?" Said a voice beside him.

Spyro looked over and was surprised to see Hunter, a glass of spirit instead of a bow.

"The name's Volcanis." Spyro said, using his disguise identity.

"Well Volcanis, No doubt you've heard of the purple dragon, Spyro?"

Spyro nodded. "He was a war hero, right?"

"Ehh." Hunter mumbled. "Just the other day he attacked a cargo vessel and seriously injured one of the guardians, Volteer."

Spyro feigned shock. "Is he alright?"

Hunter looked at his drink before finishing it and ordering another. "We don't know yet, he's hurt badly, at this point it could go either way."

Before Spyro could ask any more questions, he heard shouting from behind him.

"Let me go! Hunter!"

Spyro and Hunter turned at the source of the noise, the families had all left, even leaving their food, and at the door were two rather large male dragons cornering a smaller female.

Cynder looked at Hunter "Please! These idiots are drunk!"

Sighing, Hunter got up and walked to the dragons. "Excuse me, why don't you follow me to the bar? I'll buy you two a few rounds."

The closer one, an ice dragon shook his head and spoke with an obvious slur. "Naw, we've got us here a nice pretty female to take home."

"Hey!" Spyro said. "Leave the girl alone!"

The other dragon, of the earth element leered at him. "And what're you gonna-

But before he could finish, He had been knocked off his feet by Spyro, who had slammed into him broadside, sending them both into the street.

Spyro got up first, quickly followed by the earth dragon. "Oh boy, you're gonna wish you hadn't done that." The earth dragon opened his mouth and shot a blast of earth energy at Spyro, who leapt over it and to the side, again slamming the dragon with his horns.

With a roar the dragon got to his feet and ran around Spyro, who turned to follow him, suddenly an icicle whizzed past his head and embedded itself in the house across the street. He turned to face the ice dragon, who was in the door to the pub. Behind him, Spyro saw Cynder, who nodded. Spyro nodded back and turned to leap at the earth dragon while Cynder ambushed the ice dragon. Spyro touched the ground and bounded to the side to avoid an earth shot, twice more he did this to close the distance, and when he was close enough, he opened his mouth, toning down the power as a torrent of orange flames poured from his maw and consumed the larger dragon.

After a short burst, Spyro closed his mouth and saw the earth dragon on the ground, scales tinged red from the burnt skin underneath. Spyro walked to the dragon and placed his paw on the dragons neck and leaned in, whispering in his ear "If you ever so much as come close to her again, I'll kill you."

He let the dragon go and watched as he slowly got up and limped away, groaning. Spyro turned to the pub to see Cynder watching the ice dragon leave, leaving a spotted trail of blood from his left flank.

Spyro walked up to Cynder. "Are you ok?"

She nodded. "Thanks, they were too much to handle alone, and as good a fighter as he is, Hunter unarmed would stand little threat to two inebriated dragons."

"Why not use your element?" Spyro asked.

Cynder looked down. "I uhh… A long time ago, my element was changed by darkness, now that I'm distancing myself from the darkness, my element's distancing itself from me."

"Huh."

Hunter spoke up "Oh! Right, Volcanis, this is Cynder, Cynder, Volcanis."

Spyro smirked "A pleasure to meet you, Cynder."

Cynder smiled "Same here, but why did you help me?"

"A pretty lady such as yourself, being bullied by a couple of brutes? How could I just stand by?"

"Volcanis," Hunter said. "We were about to leave to check on Volteer, would you like to come with us?"

Spyro started to answer, but suddenly he was bombarded by pictures in his head. Attacking Volteer, watching him crash into the ocean, the cheetah whose neck he had torn, the necklace.

Shaking himself, Spyro quickly said, "No, actually I've got someone I have to meet with, sorry." And before they could say anything, Spyro ran down the street and jumped, taking to the air and vanishing over the rooftops.

Eventually, he arrived back at the cliff, still hungry but just went into the nearby cave and curled up on the stone floor and silently wept with Sparx hovering overhead, a look of helplessness on his face.


	5. Chapter 5

Eventually Spyro awoke and realized he had cried himself to sleep. As he became aware of his surroundings, he saw a colorful pile in front of him. After rubbing the dried tears from his eyes, he realized it was a pile of fruits.

"Hey buddy." Sparx said. "I felt everything, you didn't get any food, so I did the best I could."

Spyro smiled. "Thanks Sparx, I dunno what I'd do without you." It wasn't much for his body, but the fruits would hold him over until he got some meat. AS he ate, he was slightly repelled by the taste of plants, but knew he had little choice. Soon he'd have to go back.

"So… found that monster, did you?" Sparx asked nonchalantly, which earned him a glare.

"That's Cynder your talking about, watch your mouth, or I'll rip it off." Spyro growled, feeling bitter from hunger, fighting, and many other things.

Sparx said nothing for a while and stared out the cave entrance. After a while, he turned back to Spyro, who was busy renewing the color changing spell.

"You really love her, don't you?" Spyro nodded as the blue was leached from his scales, leaving the crimson dragon Volcanis.

"What are you going to do then? Confront her?"

"No." Spyro said. "I can't do that, not anymore. The things I've done, the things I'll do. I can't bring her into it."

Spyro turned to leave the cave when he realized he'd forgotten the necklace. He turned to retrieve it, placing it around his neck before taking off.

Within minutes he had reached the village and went to the market. He bought some meat with gold he had taken from those he had slain and went to a peaceful corner of town to eat.

As he was eating he sensed someone behind him. He turned to see Cynder there. Jumping slightly, he said "Cynder! Wh-what're you doing here?"

"I wanted to thank you, for earlier." Cynder replied as she walked up and sat next to him

They sat in silence for a while as Spyro ate, eventually Cynder said "So, from the looks of you, you haven't eaten in a while."

Spyro looked at her quizzically, she laughed as he realized he had a bit hanging from his mouth. He blushed and turned away to spit it out. Cynder said, "It's just that, I don't see many people eat without even bothering to cook the meat first.

"Spyro shrugged. "You're right, I am hungry, I've been traveling, and sometimes food is hard to come by."

After a minute, Cynder said "Say, Volcanis, would you mind if I took you somewhere later to eat? You know, so you can have a decent meal before you leave."

Spyro looked at her, completely forgetting his food. "Are you… are you asking me out?"

Cynder blushed a bit. "Well, I guess you could say that."

Spyro felt a pang of jealousy, which he found odd, since he was technically jealous of himself, but still, to think Cynder would consider another male! "Is there… anyone else?"

Cynder turned to stare at the forest, as if drudging up some old memory. "there was someone… a long time ago. But he left. I've heard whispers of his whereabouts, but lately I've all but given up on him." She turned back to face him. "Volcanis, I'm tired of waiting for him to start my life, he hasn't come back, and no one can wait forever."

Spyro averted his eyes, his jealousy had turned to guilt. He didn't want to drag Cynder into all of this, but seeing her like this, he couldn't just leave her. He didn't know what to do.

Eventually he looked at her. "Cynder, can you go to the cliffs tonight? There's a large cave I'm staying in, there will be a fire outside. I want to talk to you."

A little suspicious, Cynder said "This isn't a ploy to get a "pretty lady such as myself" all alone, is it?"

"No!" Spyro cried, surprised she would even think that. In a calmer voice, he said "It's just that I need to think some things over, and if you were to come there, you would be able to understand my situation a bit better."

Cynder thought it over, then said "Ok, I'll be there."

Spyro smiled. "Thanks, do you mind?" he asked, gesturing to the sky."

She laughed "You don't need my permission." Spyro grinned and got to his feet, taking off.

When he arrived at the cave, he was greeted by a furious Sparx. "What the heck man? What about secrecy? What about keeping her out of it? She could tell someone! You.. you…" But Spyro put up his paw.

"I wanted to talk to you about it, if I decide against telling her, it'll be easy enough to leave before she gets here."

Sparx grumbled, but otherwise said nothing for a while. Eventually, Spyro said "Well?"

Sparx said nothing for a minute more before saying "I… I think you should tell her."

Spyro nodded, "Figures you'd… wait, what?"

"I think you should tell her." Sparx repeated. "First, as much as I don't like her, The past few years I've begun to see the world differently, and she still has a right to know. She did wait all this time for you, you know. Plus I've been watching you, and I think it'd be good for you to have someone else to talk too. And if she does get freaked out and run off to the guardians, Like you said, we could be long gone before they get back."

Now Spyro grumbled, "I wanted you to talk me out of it. She doesn't need to live like this, she shouldn't-"

"But that'd be her choice, wouldn't it?" Sparx interrupted.

"I guess…" Spyro said.


	6. Chapter 6

Spyro had made his decision. He sat inside the cave entrance, watching the bonfire he had built burn high into the sky. He scanned the night sky for any sign of Cynder.

Then from along the cliffs, Spyro caught movement in his peripheral. He turned to it and it vanished. Wary, he left the cave, ready to fight. He came around the bonfire and was relived to see it was only Cynder.

"Cynder!" He called. She saw him and trotted over. "Volcanis. How are you?"

Spyro shrugged, "Alright, wanna sit down?" Cynder nodded, and they sat next to the fire.

"You built this?" Cynder asked, gesturing to the fire. Spyro nodded and she said "Wow, you must be pretty strong."

In his mind, Spyro thought _**You have no idea**_. But instead said "I dunno about that. Fire spreads, grows."

Cynder stared at the flames for a while; before saying "Did you figure out whatever it is you were thinking about?"

Spyro's heartbeat took off; it was coming down to it. "Yeah, I think I did. This other dragon, do you think he'd be mad if he saw you talking to me?"

Cynder kept staring into the flames "I don't want to talk about him. Please."

They sat for a long while, Spyro trying to figure out how to tell her, when she said "You know Volcanis? I've felt something when I saw you, something I haven't felt in years. It weird, but I feel like I can trust you completely."

Spyro shook his head. "No Cynder, you can't trust me, no one in your life has lied to you more than I have, except the Dark Master."

Cynder chuckled sadly, "So you figured it out? I'm the same dragon as the "Terror of the skies"? And what exactly have you lied to me about?"

Spyro sighed. "Everything. From the moment I left, to today, I've told you nothing but lies."

"What? You mean when you took off this morning?"

Spyro shook his head and got up, the necklace around his neck flashing gold from the firelight as he walked past.

Cynder thought her eyes were tricking her it looked like the fire was throwing an odd light on Volcanis's scales, making them appear to shift.

"Cynder." Volcanis said. "I can't play this charade anymore, not with you. I can't lie anymore. You'll probably run away and tell the guardians, but I don't care. I never wanted to get you into this, but I can't stand to see you like this either."

"What are you…?" Cynder tailed off as Volcanis put his paw into the fire, which instantly flared and became white hot, causing her to have to back away quickly. As she pulled her wings from her face to see through the glare, the sand around Volcanis was smoking from the heat, giving an eerie feel to the scene. And from the smoke, He said "First of all, I'm not who I said I am, Volcanis isn't real.

"Then who-" Cynder said as he walked out of the smoke, the white fire showed the color of his scales perfectly, his purple scales. "No…" Cynder whispered.

Spyro gazed at her with eyes that had hardened in the past four years, growing cold, but a deep sadness hid behind those eyes.

"You… Volcanis… Volteer…"

Spyro had a look of fear when she said Volteers name and said "I… I didn't mean to Cynder, He was attacking me, I had to defend myself."

Cynder turned from him "He wouldn't have attacked you if you hadn't attacked that ship!"

"I don't know what I'm supposed to say." Spyro mumbled. "I had to do it. You wouldn't understand, so I won't bother explaining."

"And what about all the other things I've heard about? Are they true?"

Spyro nodded.

Cynder scoffed "And how am I supposed to trust you? You've become nothing more than a criminal and murderer."

"No!" Spyro said "Thos things, weren't right, I know, but they had to be done."

"Why?" Cynder yelled. "Why did you have to kill all those people? Destroy the ship after you had gotten away?"

"I-" Spyro started, but then he realized he had destroyed the ship simply because he had wanted to. "I don't know."

Cynder shook her head. "I'm sorry Spyro, but your right, The guardians need to know. She took a few steps towards the forest, then turned back "Are you going to kill me?"

"There's no way I could." Spyro said. "Go ahead, tell them, I'll be long gone by the time you get back." Spyro looked into her eyes. "And please, get over us. I'm going to have to."

Cynder closed here eyes before she took of, a single tear rolled down her face. She opened her yes and Spyro was gone.

Heart filled with conflicting emotions, she turned and flew to the village to inform the guardians.

Later that night Spyro gazed down at the inferno before him, In his retreat from the cliffs Spyro had come across a house, it was occupied, but no one was home at the moment. He had unleashed all his pent up rage at once. In a white flash the cottage was beyond saving. Spyro smiled at the destruction and flew onwards, the necklace glinting in the firelight.

It had been a few hours since Cynder had returned to the village. At first the guardians hadn't believed her, but Hunter said that she had brought back traces of his scent, afterwards they went to the cliffs, and true to his word, Spyro was gone, he had even used his fire breath to scorch the rock, eradicating his scent so they couldn't track him.

Faced with a dead end, they had returned. Volteer had been in and out of it the whole time, and Cynder's fatigue had finally caught up with her. She had found a lone area outside and curled up to sleep.

When she woke up, she thought she saw the sun rising from behind the trees, until she realized it was still night. Curious she shook the sleep off and looked at the glow.

"Sparx?" she asked.

"Who else?" He said.

Cynder shook her head and grinned "I knew you wouldn't be far from Spyro.

Sparx put his hand up against the back of his head as he leaned back. "Hey, umm Cynder?"

"Yeah?" Then Cynders eyes widened slightly. "Wait, if you're here… does that mean.."

"No." Sparx said. "Spyro's long gone by now. H didn't even wait for me this time."

"Oh." Cynder said, feeling a little sympathy. She knew what it felt like to be left by Spyro.

"But Cynder, I need to ask you something." Sparx said.

"What?"

Sparx sighed "I know we've had our… differences, but I think Spyro needs both of us right now."

"Apparently he doesn't need anyone." Cynder said wit a hint of disgust"

"You don't know the full story though." Sparx said. "He kept things from all of us, or at least, tried to." And then he started with his explanation.

"Cynder, not long after the world exploded, then came back together, and you guys came back not long after, he started to get impatient, edgy."

"Yeah, I know that." Cynder said. "Everyone knew that."

"Yeah, well I asked him about it, no doubt you did too. He wouldn't say anything, and eventually I had to use the brother card to get him to talk."

"Well, what did he say?" Cynder asked.

"He said he felt like he wasn't done."

Cynder was confused. "Done with what?"

Sparx shook his head. "Not even he knows. He said he had a "job" to do, but he had no idea what the job was. Is."

Cynder sat in silence for a minute, then said, "Is… Does that mean what he's doing now is part of this "job"?"

"Well, remember when he started to get into books?" Cynder nodded. "He was looking for a clue as to what he was supposed to do. He never found anything, but he said looking without a direction is still better than doing nothing."

Cynder nodded. "Not long after that, he began breaking rules."

Sparx sighed again. "He felt the rules had no base in logic, and shouldn't exist at all."

"He didn't see the point of not gluing everything in Volteers room to the ceiling?"

Sparx laughed. "No, I think that time Volteers big words had gotten him frustrated, so he pranked him. Honestly I was in on that too." Cynder giggled.

"But yeah, I think he was feeling like he didn't want to be there anymore, he always told me that you were the only reason he stayed."

Cynder thought back to that last week he had been at the temple. They had tried to mate, but the guardians had caught them and kept them separated afterwards. Frowning, she said "So when he couldn't have me, he left, is that it?"

Sparx laughed. "As much as I'd love to inflame that, no, that's not it. Cynder, aside from the "job" he always talked about, you were the only thing on his mind, his dreams were either about you, or nightmares about the "job". It tore him up to leave you behind, but he said he had no idea how long he'd be gone or what he'd do, and he didn't want to put you in danger." Sparx almost said what Spyro had told him the other night, that he loved Cynder, but decided Spyro still deserved some secrets.

After a few more minutes of silence, Sparx said "but anyways, after he left, he stopped mentioning you, his "job" was everything, he had no idea what to do, but couldn't rest at night unless he tried to find out. For years we traveled the world, searching for any clue. And when his search brought him someplace he wasn't supposed to be… well, you've heard the stories."

Cynder nodded. "So, that's why he destroyed the ship and attacked Volteer?"

Sparx nodded. "Yeah, the nightmares wouldn't stop until he set foot on that ship, he couldn't leave. After he found that necklace thing he tried to leave, but they trapped him. If they hadn't, he might have let them live. And as for Volteer, he directly attacked Spyro. All I could do was stay out of the way."

"So why didn't you try and stop him?" Cynder asked. "You're his brother after all."

"Look at me." Sparx said, gesturing to his entire body. "Look at my size, what am I supposed to do? All I could really do was be there for him when he needed me and stay out of his way the rest of the time…"

Just then, Hunter came around the corner. Cynder and Sparx looked up at him. He took only a moment's curious glance at Sparx before returning to Cynder. "What is it?" Cynder asked.

"Volteer." He said, voice cracking.


	7. Chapter 7

Cynder stared at hunter with a blank look. His words pounding themselves through her head over and over.

"It's Volteer…" Hunter had trailed off. To Cynder, Hunter had been the definition of "Calm and collected" but now even he had tears that threatened to spill.

Beside her, Sparx's mouth was wide open, a huge array of emotions coursing though him, he looked at Cynder, who appeared to be made of stone.

Cynder couldn't believe it, so naturally she had to ask. "Is he…" Hunter nodded. Cynder looked down and said "So, what do we do now?"

"What do you mean?" Sparx said, voice cracking. "Volteers… he's…"

"I know, Sparx." Cynder said calmly. "I meant, will there be some kind of ceremony?"

"I don't yet know what Terrador and Cyril plan." Hunter said, his voice thick with emotion. "What will you do?"

"Dunno yet." Cynder said.

"How can you be so calm?" Sparx practically yelled at Cynder. "The guy annoyed me sure, but I can't help but feel that I could have stopped Spyro."

Cynder turned to stare at Sparx. "I don't… feel. I'm not sad, I'm not angry, glad, guilty… I'm… I can't feel anything."

"I can understand Cynder." Hunter said. "I felt the same way when my great-uncle died, We had such a connection that my mind wouldn't accept he was gone for a very long time. Then all of a sudden, three years of grief crashed down on me at once. But in the wake of it, I felt better."

Cynder "Mmh'ed" and walked past Hunter towards town, Sparx following.

"Are we going to see him?" Sparx asked. Cynder nodded.

Spyro was flying north and west to his destination, the place he would hide for a while until things cooled down. Then he would try and find Cynder again and explain the situation to her, how not doing what he was doing would destroy him. He also hoped to find Sparx, he felt horrible about leaving him, but knew he'd have a better shot with his old friends, he's done nothing wrong.

Suddenly the medallion around his neck began to pull at him again, like it did when it led him to the ship. Spyro dove and landed in the middle of nowhere, removing the amulet from his neck.

With a sudden feeling of stupidity, he realized this was the first time he'd actually examined the amulet.

The thick chain was a deep gold color; each link was shaped like a tiny serpent winding itself around the next link. The chain held a large gold setting, oval shaped with deep, intricate carvings in its surface. The carvings went around the gem and depicted a dragon in various stages of life, from a tiny hatchling; there were about thirty tiny carvings, each one showing the dragon a bit older. The next to last showed a dragon in the last days of life, old and feeble. While the last one showed not a grave, as Spyro has expected, but the old dragons body, a curved line connecting the deceased dragons chest with the chest of the hatchling in the first carving.

The gem itself was smooth, like a bubble in the ocean. It was a deep purple color, at first Spyro thought it was an amethyst, but then as he stared into its crystal clear depths, he realized it was in fact, a purple diamond. Spyro had never heard of such a thing, but it's clarity could hardly be anything else.

As he stared into the gem, it began to glow, the tiny spark inside flickered and then suddenly grew until the entire gem radiated light. As Spyro stared into the light, he saw images in his head, Sparx was talking to Cynder, and though he couldn't hear what was said, they seemed to be at ease around the other. But then, they turned to look at something behind Spyro's point of view, after a moment, Cynders face went blank while Sparx showed horror at whatever was said.

The vision went white, and when color returned, he saw a small room in the village, Cynder and Sparx were there, along with Hunter, Terrador and Cyril. All of them were crying, and all were facing a white sheet that covered a large shape. Then the vision went white again and faded.

When Spyro came back to his senses, he stared in dull shock at the amulet. He hung his head. That was it. Volteer was dead. He had killed him. The last electricity dragon in the world had been slain by his own paws. As he thought these things rage built up inside him. Rage at himself. Volteer had been a dear friend. First Ignitus, and now him too! He knew in his heart Cynder would never look at him again. This last thought broke him.

With a scream, he floated off the ground, glowing black. When he opened his eyes, they were a pure white. He screamed again and a purple light flew from him, completely annihilating anything in a mile from him. When the fury faded, he landed upon the barren earth, staring with impassive eyes at the destruction around him, nothing remained, the trunks of trees, skeletons of forest animals, only the earth remained, a square mile of desert in the middle of a forest.

Somewhere deep inside Spyro's conciseness, He realized that he was no longer in control. He mustered up his will and wrestled for control of his body. It was difficult, there was no mind to fight, it was his own rage that controlled him. So in essence he had to fight his instincts.

With a final great surge of will, he came back to the surface. Just to check, he opened his mouth, a jet of purple flame shot out, melting the ground underneath, yet it didn't burn Spyro.

Curious, Spyro looked down, and was surprised at his scales. The black aura he had emitted seemed to have soaked into his scales, turning them a muddy purple.

Spyro was curious about his body, he opened his mouth and shot a purple lightning bolt that cracked the sky in two, a resounding boom echoed through the wasteland. Spyro smiled, it would seem he had dominion over his dark form, which now lent it's power, blending convexity energy with his elements.

Spyro then shot a beam of white-purple energy that sucked all heat from the ground it hit, freezing it solid and forming ice crystals in an instant. Then he stamped the ground and a surge of energy cracked the ground under the ice, the fissure leaked purple light as the ice shattered and jagged rock shot from the earth, forming a twisted form on the desert ground.

Spyro smiled once more and opened his mouth, unleashing convexity. A rippling purple-black beam shot out, screaming though the night as it raced toward the jagged rocks. Upon contact there was a great flash, when it faded there was a U shaped channel in the earth where the beam had traveled all the way to the edge of the desert.

Satisfied with his new strength, Spyro opened his wings and used his wind element to rocket off into the night sky, leaving his feelings of guilt behind him, along with a piece of himself.


	8. Chapter 8

A week ago, Cynder had gotten word of a cottage that had been razed to the ground, and three days after that, an entire village had been destroyed by an earthquake in the dead of night; afterwards, they had found their food stores had been raided. Cynder pictured where these two locations were and where her current location was at the village, It made an almost straight line to a place that only she and Spyro knew of.

That morning, she and Sparx set off after him, putting their past to the side for the common interest of their friend.

They past the cottage and village in question, the cottage was now noting more than cinders, the inhabitants having since moved on. At the village they tried to render assistance, but the inhabitants, much like hunters village had a deep seated distrust of dragons, the seeds planted during the war with Malefor, and had now taken over with Spyros recent activities. They had shunned her and even threatened to attack if she didn't leave.

Continuing northeast she flew over the Peacekeeper desert, once a lush jungle, but burnt to the ground by Malefor centuries before. As the sun set, She decided to rest for the night. Landing on the hot sands, she looked around, no water for miles, and Spyro wasn't here to allow his ice to melt, so with little option, she delved into her element, or what she hoped was her element, lately as she had begun to realize she was no longer alone, and people no longer hated her, along with her negative emotions, her dark elements had begun to fade, sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn't.

Concentrating on the feelings of betrayal she felt towards Spyro, she spat out a glob of poison, not nearly as strong as it had been four years ago, it still had the desired effect, its corrosive powers melting a hole deep into the sand.

As she looked down the hole, she watched the green glow as it traveled farther away, until the light was no longer visible in the darkness. Eventually, she felt a huge strain to keep the poison active, and she released her will over the element, somewhere below, without her power to keep it together, the poison instantly dissolved into the underground reservoir of water Cynder had found.

Concentrating now on her negative emotions, she tried to use her wind element to create a pressurized air current that would force the water to the surface, but like so often now days, it didn't work. Her mouth opened, and breathed, but there was no spectacular blast of air, just her breathing out.

Sighing, she lay down in defeat. Sparx floated over.

"You know, I could go down and bring some water up." Cynder shook her head.

"No, the waters poisoned now, I'd have to touch it to purify it, and even then, my poison element might not work. Plus, how are you going to carry enough water up here?" Sparx shrugged and lay down on top of Cynders horn to sleep. This surprised her, but she allowed it. Thinking how nice it felt to have an old friend with her again, she drifted to sleep.

00000

In a dark place, Spyro stared into the gloom, lightning, and blue glow below. His necklace began to pull at him again and he closed his eyes. On the backs of his eyelids he could see Cynder and Sparx in the desert, tired, hungry and thirsty. A pang passed through his chest as he realized those he cared for were suffering. Opening his eyes, he stood and unfurled his wings.

00000

The next morning when Cynder awoke, the first thing she noticed was the smell of meat.

She sat up, alert and stared at the rabbit carcass in front of her. Confused as to how Sparx could have managed this, she looked around, only to see him on the ground where he had fallen when she had sat up. Cynder grinned as she saw he hadn't woken up from falling all that way. On her scale, it was the same as he not waking up after falling fifteen feet.

Grinning, she decided to wake him up. She leaned over him and opened her mouth and positioning him directly under her maw. Then she growled gently until he stirred.

Opening his eyes, it took Sparx a minute to realize what exactly was above him. When it dawned on him, he let out a high pitched scream and flitted away, diving into the hole in the sand from last night and poking his head out to see Cynder rolling on the ground, laughing.

"You should have seen your face!" She said, still laughing.

Gasping, Sparx said "Don't… do… that! I nearly had a heart attack!"

Getting off the ground, still chuckling, she said, "But it's so funny!, besides, I'm in a good mood this morning, if a little confused."

"Why?" Sparx said. "What's so… is that food?" He floated out of the hole and over to the rabbit, next to it was a pile of small fruits.

"That's what I'm confused about." Cynder said. Examining the carcass she found a curious burn pattern. "Sparx, look at this, what does this look like?"

Sparx looked at the burns on the torso. "Kind of like its ribs." Cynder nodded.

"Right, only a lightning strike would heat the bones faster than the skin and cause burns like this.

Sparx thought for a second, "but Volteer was the last electricity dragon, so that leaves…"

"Spyro." Cynder whispered, looking into the sky.

The lightning had killed the rabbit without cooking the juices out, so Cynder ate it raw to get as much liquid from it as she could in the absence of water. Likewise, Sparx's fruits seemed to have been chosen for their juiciness.

After their oddly donated breakfast, they took off to make the best time out of the desert. At the edge of the desert, there ere patches of shrubs that thrived in the arid environment, passing over, they noticed one area of sand had been melted into a disk of black glass. This must have been where Spyro had made the kill, and gathered the fruits. It made sense to hunt this far out, they wouldn't have woken up from the thunder this far away.

Continuing past the desert, they found a mountain range, having long since gone off the edge of the map, Cynder couldn't help but chuckle as she remembered the map she had seen once, on the far right was a compass rose with the insignia "Here there be humans" to warn travelers of the unknown areas ahead.

Sparx of course had no clue where they were and blindly followed Cynder. They stopped at midday to rest and hunt in the forest at the foot of the mountain range. There they found a small clear stream flowing from the ice caps, they filled themselves on the icy water before continuing.

As the sun began to set, Cynder mused to herself about the last time she had been here, it hadn't seemed that far away, but here it was, almost full night and they were just now approaching.

She smiled as she saw the mountains curve south towards the nearby ocean, which reflected the light of the moons, casting an eerie blue glow on the cliffs. Over the sea, and approaching land, was a large storm, they would arrive just before it did, then judging from the size of the storm, they'd be stuck for a while.


	9. Chapter 9

As it turned out, Cynder had misjudged the storms speed, and they were now caught in a hurricane. They had landed in time, and Sparx clung desperately to Cynders horns in an effort not to be blown away. Cynder had spotted a cave about a mile from their destination, but a mile in a hurricane might as well have been on the other side of the planet. So they had taken shelter inside. It was better than nothing, but the whipping winds still reached a good ways inside.

As the winds flowed through the tunnel, they were no longer enough to dislodge Sparx, but he still shivered from the cold. He looked down at Cynder, whose eyes were closed, a peaceful look on her face.

"Hey, earth to Cynder, you alright?"

Cynder nodded, bobbing Sparx up and down as he hugged her horn. "I'm fine Sparx, I just… I don't know, I like the storm."

Sparx rolled his eyes. "Is there a normal dragon anywhere?" he said to himself. He gazed out at the rain that formed a barrier so thick he couldn't see two feet outside the cave. Lightning flashed, making the watery curtain glow white for an instant before a thunderous explosion ripped through the cave, magnified by the stone, Sparx's teeth rattled in their sockets, yet Cynder seemed completely serene in the face of the storm.

Sparx eventually grew tired, and his eyes drifted closed, only to be shot open from a blast of thunder. After a while Sparx yawned and gave up on sleep. A few minutes later he thought he saw movement outside.

"Ok, now I really need to sleep, I'm seeing things…"

Cynder opened an eye and looked up at him, "Hmm?

"I dunno, thought I saw something moving outside." Cynder "Hmm'ed" again before closing her eyes.

Not long after that was another flash of lightning, and this time Sparx could clearly see the silhouette of someone… or something on the other side of the water veil.

"Cynder!" Sparx yelled. Cynders eyes snapped open and she stood, lowering into a fighting stance, all so quickly Sparx was dislodged from her horn, but much to his surprise, there was no wind.

The next lightning flash seemed to be awful close, as the explosion was almost instant and it seemed to flare white, then fade over the course of a few seconds, there was definitely something out there, and as that something walked into the cave they gasped.

"Spyro!" Sparx said.

Cynder whispered his name. Spyro looked at them with eyes that seemed to have a new view of the world. "Come on." He said, turning to the cave entrance.

"Come where?" Cynder said.

"To where I'm staying, that's why you came, right?"

"We can't fly out there!" Sparx said. "Only a fool would try it."

Spyro cocked his head. "Then how'd I get here? Guess I must have burrowed through the earth like a mole."

"He has a point Sparx." Cynder said, following him. Sparx groaned. "Fine, but if I die I'll kill you."

As they stepped out they saw Spyro, his eyes closed in focus. Above them was a tunnel. The winds had been stilled and a constant updraft emanating from Spyro made a safe, dry path through the rain and into the clouds.

"You first." Spyro said, eyes still closed. Cynder nodded and took off, Sparx not far behind. As Spyro took off the winds immediately picked up under him, the tunnel closing behind him. As they flew into a tunnel in the clouds it began to level off and curve into the heart of the storm. After maybe half an hour of the clouds around them thickening and growing ever darker they burst through a wall into an area in the midst of the storm where there were no clouds for a mile in every direction, around them was a gray ring so solid it appeared to be impenetrable, the clouds towered overhead for another mile.

"Wow." Sparx said in awe, looking back at Spyro, who came through the wall, the tunnel vanishing behind him. "You're doing this too?" Sparx couldn't imagine the amount of power it would take.

Spyro laughed. "No, the hurricane is like this. Come on." He said, diving towards a rather large cave below.

Cynder smiled as she saw the cave, their destination. She glided down to it's level, a narrow cliff ledge was outside the cave, far below was a pile of sharp, jagged rocks, if someone could have survived such a fall, the rocks spelt death for anyone unfortunate enough to fall there.

Cynder and Sparx stepped inside and gazed around the beautiful cave. Sparx simply stared in open mouthed wonder while Cynder recalled memories, both good and bad of this place.

The walls were the rough texture of walls formed by water dripping from above, leaving minerals behind, a closer look revealed the walls were textured like trillions of small bubbles. As if the whole cave was a liquid and boiling, then was suddenly frozen.

The color was the caves most striking feature, the stone was a translucent mineral, trapping light and making the whole cave glow. The color was, well… every color. The walls were made of rainbow crystals that glowed and shifted color. The floor below them was a massive diamond so smooth and flat they could see their faces in perfect detail. Gazing into the gem, they could see maybe twenty feet to the bottom of the diamond, which was flawless. Below the stone was gray rock the same color as the mountain. A small swirl of light seemed to float and twist inside the gem.

Looking up, Cynder noticed Spyro had been busy, around them were several smaller caves into the mountain, the walls inside were also the same rainbow crystal, but had a smooth finish.

Above her, slit in the earth allowed a thin, unbroken sheet of water to cascade down into a pool formed out of the diamond, a small trough leading to the cave entrance allowed overflow to escape outside.

"A pool." Spyro said, noticing Cynders gaze. "It gathers water from the mountains still in the storm and an aqueduct carries it here. Both for bathing, and the constant running water means there's always clean water to drink as well."

"Until the storm passes anyways." Sparx said.

"It won't." Spyro said. They turned to face him, Spyro walked to the entrance and they could see him closely in the sunlight. His scales were a darker shade now. Cynder shuddered as she thought "This must be what Malefor looked like when he was young. Is that normal for a maturing purple dragon?"

"I found out the diamond here has unique properties, they can trap all energy that's put into them, and act as a perfect capacitor." He knew they would be confused, so he continued. "Heat iron until it glows red, and it keeps the heat for a while, but eventually cools as the heat escapes. This diamond is the only thing in the world that energy cannot escape from. It can keep the energy within for eternity, unless it's drained first.

Cynder stared below her at the mass of swirling light a Spyro continued. I used the shards from making the pool to make a seal around us, it keeps the hurricane from moving on and absorbs all the energy from the storm as it rages. However, there happen to be a large number of geothermal vents around here. Knowing they'd once again be confused, he said "Places where the heat from deep inside the earth escapes. Enough heat to keep the storm going forever. It keeps those who would do me harm from finding me."

He turned then to Sparx and Cynder. "What I did to Volteer is unforgivable, and it was because he attacked me. I need to make sure no one ever attacks me again. And just like no one can get in, I'll never leave this place. Both as punishment of the things I've done, and to protect others from myself."

"That's great and all," Sparx said. "But when do we get to leave?" He turned to Cynder. "What exactly were you planning to do when you found him?"

Cynder stared outside. "So, you're not leaving?" She asked Spyro. He shook his head. "Not anytime soon."

"Then neither am I." she said. Both Spyro and Sparx did a double take. "Wait, you're staying?" Sparx said.

"Sparx is right Cynder." Spyro said. "You can't stay here."

Cynder ground her teeth in frustration and marched up to Spyro, poking him in the chest with her wing blade, causing him to flinch. "Listen here purple boy! Long before you could fly this was MY cave, so if anything I can tell you to get lost! And I came here knowing full well what you've done. Did it ever occur to you that I might actually want to be around you? Or are you so afraid of yourself that you can't see past your own problems? You may have killed, but so have I if you remember!" Afterwards Cynder shoved her way past him and sat down outside, fuming.

Spyro stared at her with a completely shocked look. He looked to Sparx with a "help me" face. Sparx sighed and floated to the side of his head. "I don't' pretend to understand women," He whispered. "But if you want any chance with her, you'll apologize."

Spyro groaned. "I never should have told you." Sparx grinned. Walking to sit beside Cynder, he waited for a few minutes, but she didn't so much as acknowledge his presence.

"Cynder…" He started, her eyes twitched toward him, but otherwise she remained motionless. "Cynder I'm sorry. I guess you're right, I was so wrapped up in my own problems that I failed to see things from your point of view. After Volteer died-"

"Wait, how do you know he died?" She said.

"This necklace, it showed me a vision, and after that, it showed you two in the desert, thirsty. But after I found out, the guilt tore me apart and I… lost control, like when I fought Gaul. I managed to regain control, and the darkness seeped into me, my scales are darker, and so is everything else." To emphasize his point, he looked up and snorted, a puff of purple flame blew and winked out a foot from his snout. Cynder turned to looka t the fire, emeories of Malefor flashing through her mind.

"Cynder, after that I didn't feel guilty about Volteers death. I still don't. After that I was hungry and attacked the village for some food, again, I didn't feel bad about it. I don't think I can feel guilt anymore. It scares me Cynder. I'm afraid of what else I'd do, so I can't put myself in a situation where something could happen. That's why I said you couldn't stay here, I'm afraid without guilt I would hurt you. I can't bear the thought, and didn't want to take the chance. I'm sorry for not thinking about you, and knowing why I said what I did, if you still want to stay I'll accept it.

After a while, Cynder turned to Spyro. "I noticed something, you may not felt guilty about what you've done, but you know that you should, you also know that you should feel guilty if you do something else. That tells me that even though you don't feel bad you're still the same good person inside. Emotions are more than a pain in your chest when you do something you regret, they're something we're born with and something that's ingrained into us as we grow up. When you freed me from Malefor, I had lived my entire life under his control, I had never known right from wrong, yet as soon as I cold think for myself, I knew what I did was wrong. And you and the guardians helped teach me what these feelings meant. Emotions can't disappear Spyro, guilt is still inside you somewhere, buried maybe, but still there."

"So, you don't think I'll hurt you?" Spyro said.

"I know you Spyro. You're heart wouldn't allow it. I've seen you do great things, you brought on an age of peace."

Spyro stared at her, her words were hauntingly similar to those Ignitus had spoken to him what seemed an eternity ago. "Cynder, thank you for believing in me; even when I don't believe in myself. No matter what happens, I'm happy that you're here with me."

Cynder smiled and moved closer to him. "Just like old times?"

"Yeah." Spyro said. "Just like old times."

They stared out at the storm for a while, then Cynder spoke up. "Spyro?"

"Yeah?"

"I have something that I've wanted to tell you, even before all this, before you left I never told you, even when I should have."

"I have a secret too Cynder." Spyro said.

"Please, let me say it first." Cynder said, "I've been going over this in my head ever since you reappeared, and I think I-"

Cynder was cut off by Spyro, his lips brushing hers. Electric tingles shot up and down her spine as they kissed. It wasn't like before, when they were (almost) consorts, that was for the sake of pleasure, but this was a kiss not of passion, but love. Not deep and forceful, but tender, washing away all the darkness on Spyro's soul to reveal his core, which loved Cynder with all its heart.

As they separated, Spyro said "This is my secret: Four years ago, back in the earths core, I heard what you said. I pretended I didn't, because I didn't know how I felt myself, but after being gone for four years, and seeing you again, It tore me apart inside to leave again, and I hated myself for telling you that you couldn't stay. I know that you love me, and I love you too."


	10. Chapter 10

Cynder wasn't quite sure how much time had passed, nor did she understand Spyros behavior, it was almost as if he regretted his self-imprisonment and grew more frustrated with each passing day that he could not escape his storm prison.

Apparently the crystals he set in the storms path not only prevented it from moving, but absorbed the storms energy, magnified it, and pumped it back in; as a result the storms speed had increased exponentially until one day when they heard a massive explosion.

They had all three of them rushed out to see what had happened, They couldn't see anything abnormal, eventually it had dawned on Cynder that somehow the winds of the storm now traveled faster than sound itself, and had somehow cleaved through some invisible wall of sound, creating a massive sound explosion. Spyro had tried that day to bore a hole through the storm and escape, but it was pointless, the storms power now exceeded even that of the purple dragon. Cynder hated to imagine what had become of the life in that five-mile wide circle of wind.

To them, the storm now appeared to be a solid wall painted black as the extreme speeds whipped the clouds into a blur. As it now exceeded sound, it had long ago producing any. Instead of the constant howl that drove Sparx insane, there was now an eternal silence that drove him insane.

As Cynder walked through the tunnels Spyro had bored into the earth she came to the fountain he had crafted for both drinking and bathing, the constant flow of water channeled from the storm however ensured the water was always clean.

A few minutes later Spyro came into the chamber. "Hey Cyn, do you have any idea where Sparx- Oh! Sorry." Spyro had walked in on Cynder bathing in the pool.

"It's alright Spyro, I mean we're not like the cheetahs, wearing clothes and all. It's nothing you haven't seen before."

"Yeah but…"

"Besides, I wanted to talk with you." She said, getting out of the water. "Sparx, by the way is out looking for food."

"Oh…" Spyro mumbled, lately it had been obvious his storm prevented any water from getting to the eye of the storm; it was ironic that they were in the center of the worlds largest storm, yet it was now the driest place on earth. Without water, the food chain was being disturbed, and the appetite of two dragons wasn't helping the local wildlife.

"Don't worry Cyn, I'll think of something."

"That's actually half of what I was going to ask you about, you remember my shadow powers, right?"

"Of course." Spyro said. 'They were incredibly useful against Malefors forces during the war, not only could the shadows corrupt their enemies and make the turn on their comrades, but they allowed her to slip into the shadows themselves, avoiding all danger. Then it occurred to Spyro. "You want to leave the storm?"

Cynder nodded, my shadow powers will make me immune to the winds, And I'll be able to get food."

Spyro thought for a minute, and looked down to his necklace. After a minute, he looked back up. "How do I know you'll come back?"

Cynder gave him a confused look. "What? Why on earth would you ever think that?"

Spyro began to answer, and then realized he didn't actually have a reason. "I…don't..know." He mumbled. Then looked at Cynder. "You're right, it's a good idea, if you're sure you're up for it, go ahead."

For a while, they said nothing. Spyro, thirsty went to get a drink. As he lowered his head to the water, Cynder said "The other thing I wanted to talk to you about; What would you think about having a child?"

There was a splash and Cynder turned around to see that Spyro's front half had fallen into the pool, his legs having given out. Cynder rushed to the side of the pool and heaved Spyro out.

Sputtering and gasping for breath, "Child?" he said in complete disbelief. He looked up at Cynders face, which showed hurt, and took a moment for the shock to wear off, then said "Cynder, sorry about that, it's just… It took me completely by surprise is all. And I'm not going to say no, but that's a big decision, and we need to look at it from all the angles. For instance, I know you're going to go out and hunt, but can you do it enough for three dragons?"

Cynder looked away, "Let me remind you purple boy who had the bigger count during the war." Spyro groaned. He remembered all to well, they had played a game of sorts while fighting together, to see who could kill more of Malefors forces, Cynder had won, barely. She insisted that making enemies fight each other with her shadow element counted, in which case her score would be higher than every enemy he'd slain since finding out he was a dragon.

Spyro sighed again. "Again, I'm sorry Cynder… I don't know, I feel… wary or bringing up a child right now." He put his paw on her cheek and turned her head to face him. "But Cynder, I will definitely think hard about this, and unless I find a really good reason not to, then my answer will be yes."


	11. Chapter 11

The days passed quickly, and soon it was time for Cynder to make the trip outside the storm. Lately she had been having doubts about herself, she remembered how her elements had been harder and harder to access and sometimes lately she couldn't find them at all. She didn't understand how, all she could guess was the more she turned from darkness, the farther she got from her own dark elements, which were artificially given to her by Malefor. The only one that seemed constant was wind, and not even Spyro's wind could break through the monster storm that imprisoned them. Only by using her shadow element could she safely pass through the storm.

Now she stood not a few feet from the wall of clouds that soared a mile into the sky. There was no sound, as the winds had long ago exceeded the speed of sound, and there appeared to be no movement, just a smooth wall of gray in front of her, but Cynder knew if she stuck her paw in, it be torn off in the unimaginable winds.

Beside her was Sparx, who seemed fidgety this close to the storm. They were waiting for Spyro, who was late in the sendoff.

Finally, Cynder saw him emerge from their cave. He approached quickly. As annoyed as she was with him, as he got closer; watching him fly she could see his muscles moving under his scales. He had developed into a fine adult and deep inside herself, in some primal part of her, she knew he would be a good mate, He would pass on good genetics, and she was glad he had chosen her for that.

When he arrived, he did so by flipping backwards through the air to stop all forward movement, then folding his wings in the final part of the loop, catapulting him into the ground. He bent his legs and his whole body quivered as he absorbed the impact, but he showed no pain.

"Where were you?" Cynder asked. "You're late."

"I was busy." Spyro said. Cynder opened her mouth, but he interrupted her. "Before you ask, don't."

Cynder closed her mouth and looked away. She had noticed how much time he spent with that necklace he had. It was pretty sure, but he spent hours sometimes, just… staring at it. And as scarce as food was, sometimes he rushed in, froze his food, and rushed back to get back to the trinket.

"Whatever." Cynder said, she turned away from Spyro. "Aren't you going to say good luck or something?"

"I don't need too." He replied. "You're not going to leave."

Cynder turned back around, confused. Beside her, Sparx said "What do you mean? She needs to find food! Listen to my stomach, I haven't heard growls like that since Cynder was chasing us. I mean really, I think I feel faint." He rushed at Spyro. "I'm swooning buddy! Catch me!" Spyro merely tilted his head, allowing Sparx to rush past him and fall to the ground.

"You're not leaving because you can't use your elements right now."

Cynder frowned. "You wouldn't know that."

Then go. He said. "Prove me wrong."

Turning back to the storm, Cynder stared at it dumbly. "I… uh…"

Smugly, Spyro said "You… uh… can't?"

Cynder turned back, hanging her head. "I'm sorry. I thought I could."

"It's fine Cynder, we'll figure out something. We don't' die yet."

"Wait, How can you be so sure?" Cynder said.

"My necklace." Spyro said. "Acts much like a pool of visions."

"I see…" Cynder said. "So all this time, you've been ignoring me you've been scrying? You'd rather watch other people instead of be with me? Need I remind you who started this storm in the first place." Cynder shook her head. "I swear Spyro, you say you love me, and then act like you'd rather be anywhere but with me, and now you're using your foresight to mock me! Matter of fact, we wouldn't even bee here if it weren't for that stupid necklace! And Volteer would-

Before she could finish her sentence, she felt not really so much as a sting but a thud on the side of her face. The next thing she knew her chin was lying in the dirt. As she wondered what happened, Spyro spoke around the same time she tasted blood.

In a growling voice, he said "Don't… ever bring that up again." There was a gust of wind as he took off to leave her in the dirt, Cynder watching him go in numb shock.

Sparx drifted to her side. "Hey Cynder, you ok?" Cynder said nothing.

"I… I'm sure he didn't mean to do that." Sparx said. Again, Cynder said nothing.

Gently, Sparx reached to put his hand on her head, to try and comfort her. As he touched her though, the mental blocks in her head broke and she let out a great sob before crying in earnest.

Nothing Sparx did could silence her, and eventually Cynder got up, looked into the storm, in a flash she was gone, a cloud of black smoke replacing her, the smoke them drifted into the storm wall and vanished from sight.

Inside the storm, Cynder dimly acknowledged her surroundings. From inside wherever she went when using the shadows she could see through the blinding cloud, wind, and rain to see the ground below.

It was a wasteland. All life had long ago been completely obliterated by the storm, leaving a smooth plane where even the stone was torn to pieces, leaving it flat. All soil had eroded away, leaving bare rock. This was a sterile place, nothing could survive here. And she had to get through before her strength waned.

As she rushed through the storm, not affected at all by the searing winds she wondered how she could access the shadows with such ease, and eventually realized it was because of what happened. Spyro had hit her. And as if that wasn't enough, he knew how close they were to the storm. If he had hit her much harder she would have fallen into it and death would have been certain. All she knew now was she had to get away. Away from him, away from her past and everyone in it.


	12. Chapter 12

A few minutes after Spyro had gotten back to the cave, Sparx returned to find him in a shadowy corner of the cave, the sunlight reflecting off his eyes, or were they just glowing yellow? Sparx couldn't tell.

"Where is she?" Spyro asked.

"Gone."

The yellow eyes widened. "What? Where?"

"You drove her away, She got so upset she risked using her elements and went into the storm."

Under the yellow glow of his eyes there was a faint purple flash and Spyro said "So be it, if she doesn't want to stay then I don't want her."

"Spyro, that's not it and you know it. If she didn't care for you then she wouldn't have been so hurt by it."

"How would you know?" Spyro snapped.

"Because she was crying."

That stopped Spyro and forced him to think. He had never once seen Cynder cry. Not before he left, and not after. Not even when Volteer died.

After a minute, Sparx said "Hey buddy? What are we going to do for food now?"

Spyro shook his head, "I don't know." But deep inside the part of him he didn't like to acknowledge he knew if it got desperate enough, there was a little yellow snack that always followed him around. But it wouldn't fall to that. Would it?

00000

Far away from there, a green dragon was out tending to his crops. He lived on the edge of the mysterious storm. Most people wouldn't have dared a few months ago, but recently they discovered that the storm hadn't budged, and instead had gotten unfathomably fast. As long as they didn't get too close it was good farmland, as the speed of the winds constantly flung water out as a constant mist, not heavy enough to wash away the soil, and very fine, enough to give crops like rice all the water they would ever need.

As he finished with the first field, he looked up to the storm wall just as a black cloud separated from the rest of it and flew straight towards his fields. Curious, he was genuinely surprised when it solidified into a dragon and crashed into his rice patty with a gigantic splash Rushing over to help, he pulled her head from the water and gasped.

00000

Slowly, Cynder opened her eyes and the first thing that hit her was that she wasn't dead. The last thing she remembered was falling into a lake, so how did she wake up in a bed?

The next thing she realized was an obscene pain in her throat. Reaching up, she grabbed whatever was lodged in her and pulled it out, coughing and spluttering as she realized there were two, one appeared to go into her lungs.

The objects were tubes, and before she could examine them, she heard a voice behind her.

"I apologize, but you've been unconscious for some time, and I had to think of a way to feed you while you were unconscious, that's the best I could come up with."

Cynder turned her head to look around the room; she was in a room obviously designed for a dragon, filled with farming implements and not much else. Eventually her eyes drifted across her host and she was struck with a sense of fear.

"You're…"

The dragon sighed. "Yes, that one day in the village, me and my friend were harassing you."

Cynder immediately glanced down her own body, and the dragon chuckled. "Don't worry; I haven't done anything while you slept. You have my honor on that. Me and my friend… we were drunk that day, we both did things we would never normally do, and I haven't touched a bottle ever since.

"How…" Cynder stopped when she realized how dry her voice was, it sounded like rocks scraping together. "How long have I been here?"

Getting up, the dragon said "Half a season. In months I'd say at least five. I've had plenty of time to figure out those tubes." Laughing, he said "At least now I know what to do if another dragon falls from the sky."

Cynder smiled faintly at the joke, and watched him come back with a bucket of water. "Here, nothings actually been in your throat for months, that's why it's so dry, but drink slow."

Taking a sip, Cynder was greeted by intense pain as the water trickled down her parched throat; it felt like her flesh was cracking open. But after the re-hydration, the water flowed painlessly, and her stomach relished the feeling of cold water. Soon after though, she felt a great hunger knowing at her.

"Have any food?"

"Yes." The dragon answered. "I couldn't give you meat while you were sleeping, so you're body's had to make due with rice for all this time, I know it's not the best for a dragoness in your condition, but It's all I could do."

At the remark to "her condition" Cynder smiled and looked down. "It's not all bad."

As he came back with some meat, he watched her tear into it with the hunger of five months. "If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing in that storm? And how'd you survive?"

All of a sudden, memories rushed back, as painful as the day they were inflicted. Suddenly she wasn't hungry, and said so.

"Eat it anyways, Bad memories can make us forget about our hunger, but trust me it's still there, and whether or not you feel it, you'll still starve to death." The dragon told her.

"Fine." She said, nibbling at the meat. "It was flavorless now, but she didn't want to starve.

"I apologize for stirring any bad memories," The dragon said. "If you don't want to talk about it…"

"No, it's fine." Cynder said. "I've got to deal with them eventually, right?" Then the dragon reached up and brushed away a tear from her face, one she didn't even realize was there.

"If you're sure."

Cynder smiled weakly. "I was living in the eye of that storm with my mate."

"I see, and why'd you dare the storm to leave?" After a minute of silence, the dragon said "I'm sorry. I can guess, and no longer wish you to tell me. Who was he?"

"Spyro."

The dragons eyes widened. "HE'S your mate? You do realize what he's done? He's become no better than Malefor was."

"You're wrong!" Cynder said. "He's made bad choices, but so has everyone!"

"Not everyone's a murderer." The dragon pointed out.

Dipping her head, Cynder whispered "I am."

Chuckling in disbelief, he said "What? I don't believe that."

"You don't' know who I am, do you?" Cynder said. "I'm the Terror of the Skies. I was forced to do those things against my will, but I still did them."

The dragon sighed. "You're Cynder then? I'll admit, for a long time I wanted to kill the one who took my parents from me, but after the war the guardians explained the situation you were placed in. After that I only wished that I had been there to deliver the final blow to Malefor myself."

After another minute, he said "But that still doesn't explain why you stayed with Spyro."

Getting up, Cynder walked towards the door. "Because, When I was still a servant to darkness, he believed in the good inside me, even when I had given up on myself. Now it's my turn to believe that he can be saved. Thank you…"

"Telnog." The dragon answered.

"Thank you Telnog. I'm in your debt, and I won't forget your kindness. But I need to go now."

"Go where?" Telnog asked.

"To the guardians. I need to know something."


	13. Chapter 13

"She's been gone almost a year now" Spyro said to no one in particular. "Is she coming back?"

No answer.

"I wonder how my old friends are doing. It's probably for the best that I distanced myself from them, don't you think?"

No answer.

"But why do I feel this urge? I want to kill, but there's nothing to sink my fangs into. And it's not just prey, I want to feel the blood of innocents…

No answer.

Just then Sparx came back into the cave. "Spyro? We've got a problem."

Quickly putting his necklace back on, he said "What is it?"

"I've been out everywhere, and I can't find any food."

A pang of fear rose in Spyro's chest as he felt the desire to eat strengthen again. He looked back at Sparx with a new eye, the eye of a predator. Shaking his head, he looked back at his own body, his ribs were showing, his reflection showed that his eyes had sunken in their sockets, and overall he looked lke he hadn't eaten in days, which he hadn't.

Looking away from Sparx, he said "Get out."

"What?" Sparx said, confused.

"I said get out! Sparx, think about it, I eat meat, we're out of food, and you're just floating there defenseless! Get out and hide before I do something I can't forgive."

Sparx's eyes widened in shock. He knew Spyro would be hungry, but he never thought He'd eat him. Then again, Cynder probably didn't think he'd do what he did to her either.

After a moment, of silence, Spyro turned around, losing control of his instincts. Looking around, he saw that his prey had escaped. Sparx was nowhere to be seen. Loosing a jet of purple flames as he roared in rage, he took to the sky to search for his quarry.

00000

Four months ago Cynder had arrived at Warfang, she had to sneak into the temple from the air at night as Telnog had warned her that leaving with Spyro would be seen by many as a betrayal of sorts. Arriving she had woken Terrador and Cyril from their sleep. After a brief moment of distrust, Cynder had explained everything that had happened since she left. The guardians gave her their trust again, but had lost hope for Spyro long ago.

In her time with them, she had delved into books, trying to figure out what could be causing Spyro to act the way he did. After a month she found something odd. In a book about the corrupting powers of the world she found a series of diagrams depicting a dragon on its cycle of life, then in the end, reincarnating into a new dragon, thus starting the cycle over again. In the middle of this circle of diagrams she saw a symbol she hoped she wouldn't the symbol of convexity.

She yearned to return to Spyro, to save him from his fate that she now understood, but she had to stay for another three months. During that time she had found a new reason for living. A reason separate from, yet inexorably connected to Spyro. Because of this she was able to finally throw off the shackles of Malefor once and for all. All the darkness within her, she was able to finally purge herself of it, returning to her original form.

As much as she hated to, she new she had to leave, to find Spyro and finish this once and for all. So she left her life in the care of the guardians and left the temple.

As she opened the doors and stared into the rising sun, she closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh air. Then she flared her white and ruby wings, and in a gust of wind rocketed off towards Spyro's self-imposed prison.


	14. Chapter 14

Cynder stared up at the great mass of clouds that marked the edge of the storm. Without her shadow element, she had no idea how she would get back.

"Going back, eh?" Came a voice from behind her. Cynder turned around to see Telnog standing there.

"How… how did you know it was me?" She asked.

Telnog smiled. "Your appearance may have changed, but not your eyes."

Cynder smiled back. "My eyes give everything away?"

Chuckling, Telnog said "Something like that."

"Yes." Cynder said. "Someone a long time ago said the same thing, but he was referring to my past."

"I see." Telnog said. "Well I mean it in the best way. So anyways, how do you plan on going in?"

Cynder shook her head. "No idea. That's the problem."

After a moment, Telnog said "Well, of you can't go over, I could take you under it. I am an earth dragon after all."

"Really?" Cynder asked. "You'd do that for me?"

"Of course." Telnog said. "Anything for a friend."

Tears in her eyes, Cynder said "thank you so much. You don't know how much that means to me. I've had very few friends before."

"Don't sweat it." Telnog said. "I'm sure you'd do the same for me. Shall we go then?"

Cynder nodded. "How do you want to do this?"

"It's simple really." Telnog said. Then he folded his wings tightly at his sides, jumped into the air and upon coming down slammed his tail into the ground, creating a sizable crater which he climbed into. "Come on!" He said.

When Cynder had joined him, he opened his mouth and a scattershot of green energy shot out with a thunderous report and blasted a hole several yards into the ground. Turning back, he said "It'll be noisy in there, but we'll be able to move at a walking speed." Then he turned back and fired another earth shot.

It turned out the rock under them was rich in deposits of green crystals, so Telnog could regularly regain his strength. Eventually, Telnog said he could feel in the earth they had passed through the storm wall and began tunneling upwards.

Eventually he loosed a blast that let in blinding light and cool breeze.

Turning back, he smiled, "We made it." Suddenly Cynder watched as he soared through the hole into the sky above. She heard a scream, then nothing.

Jumping out of the hole, Cynder scanned the sky for Telnog but saw nothing. Suddenly she heard a thud behind her and turned to see the headless corpse of a green dragon on the ground.

Screaming she looked up to see Spyro hovering there, but not the Spyro she remembered from a year ago. His eyes had become dull yellow slits, his scales inky black.

00000

Spyro heard thuds in the earth and immediately went to investigate. Almost right after arriving at the source, a hole was blasted out of the ground and a green dragon popped his head out.

With a wave of fury, Spyro recognized him as the same dragon who had tried to assault Cynder a year ago. Before he could do anything else, an uncontrollable urge was unleashed inside him, something that had been forced into dormancy for a year and had built in intensity, an overwhelming, insatiable desire to kill.

Instantly he dove down, grabbed the dragons skull in his talons, and yanked him from the earth, all he had time for was a scream before Spyro sent a pulse of convexity down his legs and into the dragons head, exploding it.

"I warned you what would happen if I ever saw you again…" Spyro whispered. Just then another dragon popped out of the hole. She was the while of fresh snow, with ruby wings and chest. The urge came back, not sated at all by the death of the green dragon, She screamed as he prepared to bathe her in flames, when she locked eyes with him. Suddenly he cut the flow of fire as he saw those green eyes.

"Cynder?"

"Spyro! What did you do?" She screamed.

Eyes narrowing, he said "I told him I would kill him if I saw him again, so I did."

"Spyro, he saved my life!" She yelled.

"I don't care if he saved the world, he deserved to die, so I killed him. It's as simple as that."

Suddenly Cynder leapt at Spyro, she was far faster than he remembered, but not nearly fast enough. In a pulse of energy, he was behind her.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

Turing in midair, she said "Spyro, I'm taking that necklace of yours. It's the root of all this evil."

Spyro laughed. "What evil do you see here? I only see the order of the world, everything needs balance. Light and dark, hot and cold, and yes even good and evil. With Malefor gone there's too much good in the world, and if no one wants to maintain the balance, then I guess I'll have to.

"You used that same argument to justify killing Volteer." Cynder pointed out.

Snarling, Spyro said "You want my necklace so bad? Come and take it."


	15. Chapter 15

Cynder lay on the ground, bruised and beaten, but not defeated. For all his power, Spyro had underestimated the new Cynder. Purged of the darkness, her natural element, wind was able to shine through with a new intensity and had given Spyro a few marks as well.

Currently however she had been struck with an earth missile square in the chest, and watched as Spyro bared down on her, yellow eyes glaring.

Just then Cynder opened her mouth and a cyclone flew from her mouth, the gray winds hit Spyro full one, sending him spiraling high into the air. As Cynder got off the ground she began spinning, slowly a small tornado grew around her, though it rapidly expanded into a whirling monster of wind.

From the air, Spyro couldn't see Cynder, the gray winds of the twister obscured her, but he knew she had to be in the center, he'd seen this attack before (though on a smaller scale) and without recitation opened his mouth and shot a blinding arc of purple lightning into the center of the storm, the shockwave blowing it apart to reveal no trace of the white dragoness.

Then he heard a voice from behind him. "Too slow Spyro." He turned just in time to see Cynder open her mouth, Spyro had never thought wind to be a powerful force before, but the concentrated stream of air was like being hit with Terradors tail, his vision went red and he shot the two hundred feet to the ground so fast Spyro didn't even remember moving, Just a thunderous impact.

Now that Cynder was in the air, she had a clear advantage, and she was prepared to use it. AS son as she saw movement below her, she began channeling wind energy into her tail, Just as suspected, Spyro came rocketing from the rubble in a purple comet of fire, Cynder front-flipped in the air to gain momentum and threw her tail out, which hit the comet. The resulting clash of fire and wind created a huge firestorm around them as the fire left Spyro, leaving him trying to beat back her tail with his horns. The forces of their attacks kept them in midair like that, without aide of their wings they struggled against each other.

Then Cynder smiled. "You lose." Then she twisted to the side, Spyro's frozen momentum carrying him past Cynder, who bit his tail, grabbing him. Using his own momentum and her wind, she began spinning again, faster and faster until Spyro could no longer stay conscious and blacked out. Then Cynder twisted in midair, spinning him vertically, then let go, sending him streaking into the earth a second time. The impact created a huge crater and a cloud of dust dozens of feet in the air.

Without hesitation Cynder used the same technique as Spyro's comet dash, but with wind. Landing at his side in an instant. Cynder then raised her paw, whch glowed white with wind energy, and prepared to strike.

Slowly Spyro opened his eyes, and said "Please… don't."

"I won't kill you." Cynder said. Then she brought her claws down with every ounce of force she could muster, and struck the purple diamond of the necklace.

"No!" Spyro shouted, but before anything else could happen when Cynders claws hit the gem, there was an explosion of black and purple lightning that emanated from the gem, arcing to everything except the two dragons. Cynder couldn't move as he claws flared white, combating the dark force coming from the gem.

Spyro's screams of pain slowly started to change to a chilling maniacal laughter and for a moment, Cynder feared the pain had driven Spyro insane. Btu then the gem flashed purple, then again, finally it flashed a third time before it shattered into a trillion dust motes that hung in the air, gently glowing purple.

Taking a step back, Cynder looked down at Spyro, who lay motionless. After a few minutes Cynder released her held breath as he groaned and tried to get up. He got halfway before he stumbled. Cynder rushed down and grabbed him, helping him up.

"Spyro? Are you ok?

Groaning again, Spyro opened his amethyst eyes and looked at Cynder. "I… think so. Why are you helping me? I was trying to kill you."

Smiling, Cynder leaned in and kissed him. "Because I love you, and you weren't in your right mind. Come on, lets get back to the cave."

Spyro smiled back. "Ok."

00000

After limping back to the cave, Spyro went to the pool to clean up when he looked inot his reflection.

"Um… Cynder?"

"Yes?"

"Mind telling me what's going on?"

Cynder laughed. "So you noticed?"

"Umm… Not that I mind it, I guess I was just used to being black is all."

Spyro turned to Cynder to show her his scales, which were a vibrant purple. Dirty and bloody, but definitely purple.

"Yes Spyro, you're once again the legendary purple dragon. That gem had some kind of powerful darkness within it that from what I read, is like a magnet to purple dragons. Once they obtain it, it corrupts them. It's exactly what happened to Malefor, and he was actually the necklaces last owner. The cheetahs ship was transporting it north, to the White Isle. The only place it would be safe from any purple dragon looking for it."

"Oh." Spyro said. "So my color was from the corruption?"

"Yes." Cynder said. "Also, the gem had a power over you that made you do things you would never normally do to get it. It's almost like it wanted you to find it."

Spyro lay down. "I guess that makes sense, now that it's not influencing me, I… I think I was addicted to it. I spent so much time with it, looking back I can see how I would have scared you guys…" Spyro looked like he was about to say something else, but couldn't. He looked on the verge of tears.

Cynder came over to him and lay next to him. "Spyro? What is it?"

Then Spyro finally broke down, crying as hard Cynder had a year ago. For a few minutes Cynder tried to figure it out, when a worm of suspicion got into her mind. "Spyro?... Where's Sparx?"

Managing to stop crying for a moment, he looked at Cynder with eyes that told her everything. "Cynder… I tried to stop, but… I couldn't. I was so hungry, I… I tried telling myself to stop, but it's almost like my body forced me…"

Cynders eyes widened and she put her paw over her mouth. "Oh my… Spyro… I'm so sorry."

"It's all my fault!" Spyro screamed. Inside he felt even worse than when Ignitus and Volteer died, and the tiny part of his mind that was still thinking rationally was surprised the darkness didn't' come again.

Then the couple heard a chilling voice behind them "It's not your fault Spyro, it's mine."

The two turned around, and Cynder was confused, how could Spyro be next to her and in the cave entrance at the same time? Spyro saw the dragon and his heart dropped like a rock, He didn't know why, but he felt an overwhelming sense of doom from this dragon.

"Who are you?" Cynder asked.

The dragon smiled cruelly. "Who am I? I existed before names, dragon. And I must say, this has never happened before. I've always had to take on a host. But having my own body is a nice change of pace."

All Spyro could manage was "What?"

The dragon looked at him. "I would think of all dragons, you would know. I'll go ahead and take credit here, You've heard how it's the purple dragons destiny to destroy the world, yes? I remember, I told you myself."

After a seconds confusion, Spyro looked at the dragon. "You're… Malefor?"

The dragon laughed and moved out of the entryway, without the glare from outside they could see the dragon more clearly. His scales were inky black, like Spyro's were before. His eyes were also yellow slits and glowed slightly. In every aspect, he looked exactly like Spyro did a few hours ago.

"Malefor? That fool was weak, even weaker than you are now Spyro. I must say, out of all the purple dragons to ever exist, you are the strongest. With the exception of the first of course. That fool also had the wisdom to see that darkness together with such power could be disastrous. So he separated every ounce of darkness from himself and created… me."

"That… that can't be" Cynder said.

The dark dragon laughed. "Why not? Spyro was right after all. The world is all about balance. Good and evil must exist in equal amounts. The good and evil of the purple dragons were separated almost as soon as the purple dragons became what they are now. I just want to restore the purple dragons to what they used to be. Is that so bad?"

Spyro stared at the dragon. "So… When Malefor tried to destroy the world, that was you?"

The dark dragon nodded.

"What then? After everything's gone, what would you have done then?"

The Dark Dragon sighed. "Spyro, I've existed since the first purple dragon, after the world shattered, I would continue to exist."

"So Malefor…" Cynder started.

"That weakling was easy to corrupt. I influenced his actions to lead to his exile, then when he was drawn to the necklace, just as you were, his mind was so weak I was able to destroy it and take his body for my own. Poor kid, he even had a love. With you though, Spyro. I had to make you think my actions were your own until your mind was shattered enough by guilt that I could destroy you as well."

"You monster." Spyro growled. "Are you saying Sparx…"

"Yes, I made myself appear to be your own thoughts, and made you eat him. I don't' care if you know now, since I don't have to take your body. Thanks to Cynder here I have my own."

"What do you mean, thanks to me?" Cynder said.

The dark dragon smiled. "Ironic, isn't it? By destroying the gem You freed Spyro, and released me at the same time."

Spyro grinned. "Jokes on you though. There's no way out of this storm I created."

The dark dragon frowned. "Yes… that is troublesome. You managed to think for yourself a few times. Your will really is strong, you know that? This prison certainly was a stroke of genius, but nothing problematic." Then the dragon began to hover and radiate darkness. Looking at them, he said "You might want to duck."

Then the darkness imploded, then shot outwards in a black shockwave stronger than anything Spyro had ever seen before, it completely obliterated the cave they were in, as well as the entire mountain above them. The black wave traveled onwards, going faster as it went, until it met the edges of the storm wall, it tore through the winds, dissipating them like it was smoke from a pipe being blown away from a fan. Soon the hypersonic storm, traveling at incalculable speeds was no more.

Spyro and Cynder slowly stood up to look around them, where the eye of the storm was, where they had lived was a parched desert, no plant life, the ground tan and cracked from absolutely no water.

Around that was a ring for miles, to was a hundred feet lower than the surrounding ground, all the dirt and clay long ago having been swept into the storm, leaving only a five mile ring of gray bedrock, polished to a glassy shine and slick as ice.

Above them, they heard the dark dragon laughing. "A good try Spyro, but now I'm finally free to do what you kept me from for more than a year." Then he flapped his wings once and was out of sight.

Spyro looked at Cynder. "Cyn, he's part of me, and he's going to kill and destroy, We have to stop him."

Cynder nodded. "I couldn't agree more."


	16. Chapter 16

Spyro and Cynder had been flying most of the day, searching for any sign if the dark dragon that they were pursuing. The dragon had once been half of the first purple dragon, who slip his dark half and imprisoned it inside a gem.

When the next purple dragon was born, it had no darkness inside it, a being of pure light. The purple dragons all possess the same spirit, which is passed on as each new dragon is born. But with this spirits darkness imprisoned each purple dragon sought out this gem, which corrupted and possessed them all, It's goal was to destroy the world and re-make it as a land of shadow and misery, but each time a sliver of light was left in the world, which grew and expanded until once again the world was as it was. So when the next purple dragon was born, the cycle of would begin anew.

When Malefor was born, he was average, as far as the purple dragons were concerned, but his will was weak and he was easily possessed. Through events not recorded in history he was imprisoned in Convexity.

Ten Generations later, Spyro was born into a world still ravaged my Malefors war on light and life. Wanting to make the world better, he combated this darkness, still pure as the darkness was still inside of Malefor. When he traveled to Convexity himself, this darkness became aware of Spyro and planted a seed of darkness inside of him.

During the Night of Eternal Darkness, this seed of darkness drove him to the Well of Souls, even if he didn't know it. When he entered the shaft of Convexity that contained Malefors spirit, a larger portion of the darkness transferred to Spyro, not enough to destroy him, but enough to corrupt him. Spyro was no longer a pure creature.

During the three years of stasis inside the crystal, the darkness in Spyro slowly began twisting him, until eventually Spyro would use the dark power of Convexity willingly. Cynder was able to use this power because of her experience with this same darkness.

When Malefor was finally destroyed, taken from this world by the ancestors, the darkness was imprisoned in the gem once again, and used its portion inside Spyro to pull him towards itself, the cycle starting anew.

Just earlier that day, Cynder had freed Spyro from this darkness completely by destroying its source, the gem. Spyro was once again a creature of pure light, but the darkness inside of him, freed from its ties to the gem, was able to manifest in the real world as a creature of pure darkness. Finally free to destroy the world once again, it left Spyro and Cynder for parts unknown. Now they searched for him before it was too late.

After returning after a year, Spyro received mixed welcomes. Some welcomed him back as the Purple Savior, while others remembered the things he did while under the influence of the darkness and forced them to retreat.

And then they came across a village that looked as if a meteor had struck it, a large area was obliterated with debris having flown outward and destroy more property. After landing and offering help, they were immediately attacked. The dark dragon apparently had done this, and the people there had mistaken it for Spyro.

As they traveled, they found more and more villages and towns destroyed by the dark dragon, and every time they attacked Spyro on sight. Once Cynder went in alone and tried to explain the situation, but she was also attacked simply for defending Spyro.

They decided they had to return to Warfang, if anyone would believe them, the guardians would.

As they neared the city, Spyro turned to Cynder. "Do you smell something?"

Cynder looked at him a moment before putting her nose to the wind. "Mmh, your right. It smells like barbeque!"

They began looking downwards for any sign of life, they remembered this area well, One of the many cheetah villages was nearby, not Hunters birthplace, but between there and Warfang. As they went on they sailed overhead of the village, where no one was cooking. They quickly angled upwards so as not to attract attention, and went on.

Good thing that smell warned us, or we could have been shot at." Cynder said.

"True." Spyro said. "But all the same, I could go for some food right about now."

Cynder laughed. "You never change, do you?"

Spyro shrugged "Not really." Then he went silent for a moment.

"Hey?" Cynder said, getting Spyros attention. "You OK?"

Spyro sighed. "Yeah, I was just thinking, if Sparx were here, he'd probably have some witty comment of something."

"Don't worry Spyro." Cynder said. "That wasn't your fault, you know that."

"I know." He said, his voice shaking. As he breathed, small puffs of white flames escaped his mouth. "When I find him… I'll kill him. I don't care what it takes, I'll have revenge if it kills me."

"Spyro" Cynder said "You can't rush into something like this so recklessly. You have responsibilities."

Sighing, Spyro said "I know Cynder, protect the world and all that."

She shook her head. "That's not it." Then she told him about what had happened to her after she left.

"Do you promise? She said, finishing.

Spyro looked at her, and with all the sincerity he could muster, said "I promise Cynder. I'll protect you, and everyone else."

Cynder smiled. "Thanks."

As they reached the top of the next hill, they were able to see the city of Warfang. Suddenly Spyro's hunger vanished.

The smell of barbeque emanated from the city, which was on fire. There was no opposing army, yet every building was destroyed, every flammable object threw flames into the sky. Here and there were explosions, there were no screams of the wounded or moans of the dying, there was no one left to make noise, just thousands of burning corpses.

Spyro stared in open mouthed shock at the carnage before him. Cynder on the other hand shot like a missile towards what was left of the temple. Speechless, Spyro silently followed.

Cynder entered the temple, followed by Spyro. The hallways were still intact for the most part, their circular design lending them incredible strength. Cynder began frantically running through the halls, calling out for Terrador or Cyril. Spyro could barely comprehend what had happened here.

After a minutes searching, they found the central room of the temple, the egg chamber. After all, the guardians' purpose was to protect the eggs. Inside was to terrible for Cynder to see for more than a glance, She turned back, burying her face in Spyros side, horrified beyond tears.

Inside were every egg from the past five years, every unborn dragon was kept here until the year of the dragon every ten years when there would be a mass hatching. The next one would have been in a couple years, on Spyro and Cynders twentieth birthday, but that was impossible now. The flames had boiled the inside of the eggs, the pressure causing them to explode, sending their scorching contents flying. The walls, floor and ceiling were covered in yolk and in some cases, melted corpses of half-formed embryos littered the floor.

In the midst of the gore lay a large mass, Spyro immediately recognized the color and mourned for the earth guardian, until he noticed shallow breathing.

"Terrador!" He shouted, running to the guardians' side. Cynder looked up, and slowly followed Spyro into the carnage.

Terradors body was a collection of gashes, bruises and burns. He had fought with everything he had to protect the eggs, but ultimately failed. He now lay covered in exploded yolk.

Slowly he opened his eyes. "Cynder? Spyro?" HE tried to smile, but it hurt and he stopped trying. "I see you succeeded Cynder."

Cynder nodded. "He's free from the darkness now."

"So I noticed." He replied. "But who could have guessed what would become of that darkness?"

"I'm sorry Terrador, if I had known this would happen I-

Cynder was cut off by Spyro. "It wasn't your fault Cynder, no one knew this would happen."

"Cynder." Terrador said. "Cyril… he managed to escape with an egg, call him a sentimental fool, but I think he knew which one to take the second the attack started.

Cynder smiled. "Thank the ancestors he's alright, and the egg?"

"As far as I know it was undamaged." Terrador said before closing his eyes. "Ah… it would seem my time is up."

"Terrador, no! Not you too!" Spyro sobbed, tears forming.

"Quiet!" Terrador snapped, shocking Spyro from his misery. "Why should you be sad? I died fighting, if anything you should be happy that I die a warriors death! And your job isn't done yet, you still have battles ahead of you, there's no time for tears."

Spyro numbly nodded. "I understand."

Closing his eyes again, Terrador smiled. "Ignitus, Volteer, I'll be seeing you again soon, my friends." Then his body relaxed and went still.

But Spyro and Cynder had no time to mourn, outside there was a crack of thunder, but the sky was clear except for the smoke pouring from the city. They looked at each other, hardened their resolve, and turned to the exit. The final battle was about to begin.


	17. Chapter 17 pt1

Spyro and Cynder were out of options. There were three dragons left in Warfang; Them, and the Dark Dragon. Cyril had escaped the massacre, but every other living thing in Warfang was dead. If they didn't stop the Dark Dragon here and now, it would continue to kill. Shortly after watching Terrador breathe his last, they heard a clap of thunder in the clear blue sky.

Spyro turned to Cynder. "Ready?"

Taking a deep breath, Cynder replied "No. Let's go."

Turning to the exit, they took one last look at the temple around them, their childhood home. The last time Spyro had been here he wasn't even half as tall as the guardians, now he stood just under them in height, Cynder having surpassed them, she almost had to duck to go through the circular doorways.

Now without a second thought, they raced through the corridors without a second glance, perhaps for the last time. When they reached the great gate, an earth shot from Spyro blew it off its hinges to crash into some rubble on the other side of the street. Spyro was the first to exit, followed by Cynder. They leapt into the sky and beat their wings in unison, soaring high above the ruins of Warfang.

After a moment o scanning the skies, Cynder raced ahead. "Spyro! There!" she yelled. Beyond her, Spyro could see the silhouette of a lone dragon hovering above the ruins. His pulse raced and adrenalin surged through his veins, his blood pressure rose as his rage spiked. Spyro began to charge lightning in his body and harness the wind currents around him as he prepared to attack.

For a moment, visions flashed in front of his eyes. His last memories of Volteer, who had been killed by this same attack. For a moment he was stunned with guilt, but then he remembered what the Dark Dragon had said, about influencing Spyro's every action. He channeled all his grief at the loss of his friend into vengeance and let loose an ear shattering roar.

A moment later the Dark Dragon returned the challenge with a rumbling growl that traveled the distance between them, yet sounded close enough to touch the source. Spyro closed his eyes and condensed the wind currents around his body, creating streams of lightning inside it, then he took off, the electricity accelerating his body to mind-numbing speeds.

Cynder watched as Spyro roared his challenge to the Dark Dragon, and then he shot off so fast Cynder barely saw a purple blur. There were two explosions, one sounded as Spyro broke through that invisible barrier in the air, the second as he collided with the Dark Dragon. Cynder saw massive lightning bolts arc to the ground as a purple blur left the smoke cloud. Spyro pivoted and turned to the smoke cloud, he wore a grin, sure that he had won, but Cynder wasn't so sure.

As the smoke cleared, they could see the Dark dragon's motionless form, somehow hovering without using his wing, since half his body was gone. But as they watched, tentacles of the blackest shadow grew from the massive wound and twisted around each other, binding so tightly they formed a solid mass. Eventually, the Dark Dragons' body had completely regenerated.

Cynder watched as he slowly turned to Spyro, who was frozen with shock, the Dark Dragon opened it's mouth and a garish purple glow emanated from it.

"No!" Cynder yelled, opening her own mouth. Fast as the northern wind, a blast of air flew out and struck the dragon on his cheek, its head jerked just as the stream of purple fire shot out, passing harmlessly to Spyro's side. The Dark dragon turned to face Cynder this time. Cynder shot another current of wind as the Dark Dragon spewed purple fire at her.

As the two attacks collided, it was obvious the Dark Dragon was stronger. The purple flames quickly consumed the wind and bared down on Cynder.

Cynder closed her eyes, preparing for the worst, when there was a flash of light. She opened her eyes to see Spyro by her side, a jet of white fire streaming out and countering the purple flames. They seemed evenly matched, and the point where they collided let off a glaring white light as it moved back and forth with their surges of power.

"Just hang on Cynder!" Spyro said through gasps for breath. She nodded and opened her mouth, the wind currents around her twisting and gathering at a point just in front of her mouth, becoming an orb of wind so packed with energy it glowed white. Cynder grinned to herself and lobbed the orb at the collision point of the two flames.

When it struck, yellow and orange flames were thrown in every direction, anything below them that wasn't already ablaze quickly caught. The glowing orb of wind didn't dissipate, but pushed against the purple flames. Faced with the force of the purple and white dragons, the dark flames were pushed back until the Dark Dragon was consumed in white light. There was an explosion and a wave of searing wind blew past Spyro and Cynder. Nothing remained of the Dark Dragon.

Cynder turned to Spyro. "Thanks, you saved me."

"Cynder, I would have put myself in the way of that attack if it would save you. I love you."

Cynder smiled and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could something moving caught her eye. She turned to it and her eyes widened. "Spyro, look."

Spyro also turned to see what looked like a bubble of oil hanging in the air. As they watched tiny black bits floated from the ground and joined with each other, growing larger and joining with still larger blobs and eventually joining with the main bubble. When it seemed there was no more to absorb the now large bubble shrunk in places and grew out in others, gaining shape and definition until the Dark Dragon hovered before them again.

It tilted its head, cracking sounds coming from its neck. It opened its eyes and looked at the two. "Well now, that was quite annoying. That actually hurt."

"But How?" Cynder exclaimed. "We blew you away!"

Instead of answering the Dark Dragon turned to reveal its tail, the spike still had not grown back. He looked over his shoulder. "It looks as if I still have a piece missing, Cynder, will you be a dear and return it?"

"What?" She said, looking around her. She completely turned and saw the spike hovering behind her.

Suddenly the spike moved. In a blur it zoomed to the Dark Dragon and rejoined with it. Cynder looked at it confused, why was it wet?

A moment later she realized why as her wings grew weak. She looked down at the hole in her chest and was mildly surprised there was no pain. She looked back up to Spyro and tried to call out to him, but all that left her mouth was blood. After that she realized her wings had stopped moving.

00000

Spyro watched in horror as Cynder was ran through. She looked at him and tried to speak, but spat up blood and fell from the sky.

In a frantic attempt to save her he flew to the ground, wings straining. His every instinct told him to pull up, he was coming at the ground too fast, but every other part of his mind was screaming in agony. His heart felt like it had been ripped out too, his eyes burned with tears. At the last second he reached Cynder and caught her on his back, pulling up at the last second, he barely had time to get in position for a running landing.

After he stopped, he eased Cynder to the ground. Her eyes had grown dim and somehow she still clung to life.

"Cy…Cyn?"

She coughed up more blood, and in a wheezing voice tried to speak. "Sp,,,Spyro. I… lo…I love…you." After she had finished any sign of pain left her face. She closed her eyes and her breathing stopped, as she did, so did Spyros heart.

"No…" Spyro mumbled. "Cyn you cant be. I lost so many others, I can't lose you too!" Spyro frantically rubbed her white hide, trying desperately to bring her back. Cynders head lolled to the side but not much else resulted from his efforts. In that moment, Spyros mind snapped, he eased Cynder down to the ground and slowly stood up, staring at her body.

"You two were quite troublesome together, it's how you defeated me when I controlled the other purple dragon, but it seems you're weak separate." The Dark Dragon said, grinning cruelly. He was about to say more, but had to dodge as a flash of white flew inches from his snout. Spyro, still staring at the ground had fired a brilliant bolt of lightning, a monstrous crash of thunder sounded and when it died down, Spyro spoke.

"Cynder was not weak!" Spyro screamed the last word as he turned his head, eyes blazing with hatred. His lips curled into a feral snarl, his snout wrinkled with malice.

"You've taken my whole life. There's nothing left to say." He growled. In a flash of light he was level with the Dark Dragon.

"Heh, so now you'll fight for real?" the Dark Dragon taunted. "Maybe without that wench to worry about you'll-

Before he could finish Spyro had sunk his teeth into its throat. With a snarl he twisted his head, taking a huge chunk out of the Dark Dragons neck. However the missing chunk grew the black tendrils that joined together into a new whole.

Roaring his fury and frustration at the foe who wouldn't die Spyro unleashed a barrage of claws, teeth and tail spikes. The Dark Dragon fought back with equal intensity, but Spyro was faster. As the Dark Dragon thrust his tail spike forward, blood flying off, Spyro pivoted in the air, flaring one wing out and flapping the other, the effect was that he twisted around the Dark Dragon and was behind it before it could react.

Spyro opened his mouth and bathed it in white fire. He continued the stream of flames until nothing remained.

But once again, the ashes floating on the breeze liquefied and joined together to form a large black orb.

Before he could finish his rebirth, Spyro shot a bolt of lighting into the center of the mass, exploding it. But once again the pieces began their inevitable rejoining. Spyro panted for breath, his fury not being quenched in the least, and did all he could do.

Wait.


	18. Chapter 17 pt2

Spyro refused to believe the dragon was immortal, there had to be a way to kill it. After all he thought Cynder couldn't die, but he was wrong. In a world shattering instant she was gone. Now Spyro's sole purpose was vengeance.

As the Dark Dragon finally reformed, it started to attack, but Spyro had been waiting, a blast of green light sent the Dark Dragon flying to the ground. Its body hit a ruins of a building, blowing a hole in its and causing the entire structure to collapse. As the Dark Dragon dug its way through the rubble, ash and bones he looked up and swore to himself as Spyro flew down to him, twisting in the air, a huge earth flail swingin straight at the Dark Dragon.

With an explosion the rubble was sent flying every which way, and moments later the Dark Dragon had re-formed behind Spyro

"That's quite annoying, It can't kill me, but it does hurt you know." Before he could say more he felt a thud and looked down at an icicle jutting from his chest.

"You don't know pain" Spyro growled. "Try having your soul ripped out, until you've loved someone with every fiber of your being, and watch them die and not being able to do anything about it… DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT PAIN!"

Spyro opened his mouth, letting loose a roar that literally shook the foundations of Warfang, and came to bear on the Dark Dragon, From Spyros mouth came a jet of white fire, a bolt of lightning in it's core and a double helix of icicles and razor shards of rock twisting around it. A cone of gray wind formed a piercing head to the attack.

The Dark Dragon tried to dodge, but Spyro yelled "NO!" and jerked his head, the Dark Dragon turned in time to see that the elemental beam had turned around and was returning, he dodged, and again the attack came back, but faster this time. Too fast to dodge.

The beam struck home, a flash of light and the beam had gone through the Dark Dragon, continuing on until it faded from sight.

As it healed, the Dark dragon laughed, "That's all you've got?"

"Try me."

"Fine, I think I'll enjoy seeing if you die as easily as Cynder." It opened its mouth and a ball of purple fire flew out. Spyro easily dodged the initial attack, but as it struck the ground, melting the rubble beneath them it exploded into hundreds of smaller embers which flew every which way.

Spyro turned to face the salvo and flared his wings with a roar of rage, a shockwave of wind flew from his wings, snuffing out the deadly attack and throwing more rubble into the air. As he recovered he saw a flash of purple in his peripheral and dodged instinctively as a bolt of purple lightning arced past him. As it struck the ground, the shockwave of thunder sent Spyro spinning through the air; his ears ringing.

Even over the ringing he could hear a roaring that he recognized as an earth blast. He turned and fired his own, the green and purple light met each other and rebounded, throwing both dragons back. Spyro, already disoriented from the lightning was thrown into the ground.

He tilted his head back as he skidded on the ground, his neck screamed in pain as it warped, his horns digging into the dirt, then he slammed his tail into the ground, the combined forces sent him flipping upside-down, as his flip sent him into the ground he bent his knees, and the second his feet touched ground he leapt backwards, flapping his wings to gain distance. Just as he cleared the ground a huge boulder hit where he had been skidding, sending a purple shockwave out and leveling the surrounding area.

Spyro backflapped more as the rock crumbled, the Dark Dragon emerging from the earth sphere. But this time he wanted blood. He leaned forward and dove straight at the Dark Dragon.

It saw Spyro approaching and stood on its hind legs, clenching its claws into a fist, a sphere of fire growing around it, so much energy was in it that small jets of fire escaped here and there.

As Spyro gained speed he roared in rage and pain, fire coursing around him. He accelerated into the comet dash, but his rage manifested into the fire, the flames parting in front and taking the shape of a furious dragon head, its mouth open wide.

As Spyro closed in, the dragon dash closed its maw and the Dark Dragon threw his flaming fist, the Dragon dash closed its jaws around the Dark Dragons arm, an exploding whirlwind of fire erupted around the two dragons and they were both thrown into the air.

Spyro landed first and looked up to see the Dark Dragon had recovered midair and wa gathering a purple mass in front of him.

Spyro leapt to the skies and shot upward in a wind dash. As he did the Dark Dragon fired the beam of convexity, the purple beam blazing through the air in a roar of power, it struck the ground and Spyro was blinded by light and deafened by pure sound. Through all this though, he kept flying upwards, knowing that to stop would be to die. And he wasn't ready to die yet.

Eventually the light died down and Spyro turned to see he had flown a good mile up, h could see all of Warfang as if it would fit between his wings. Or what was left of Warfang.

Half of the ruins were gone; a good half mile circle had been annihilated. A massive crater arcing with purple electricity was all that was left. Spyro wished he had access to that power, but it was part of his dark half, which was now determined to kill him. For a moment his will faltered, what was the point of fighting if his opponent just came back?

He raised his eyes to the sky as if to search for an answer, and surprisingly he did.

He knew it must be some hallucination, but in front of him were Ignitus, Volteer, Terrador, Sparx and Cynder.

"What?" was all he could manage.

"You can do it Spyro, Of any dragon in the world, you alone have the power to stop it." Terrador said.

"Quite." Volteer commented. "The odds may be less than ten percentile, but there other unknown variables, including some that cannot be quantified or defined, one of which being the energy output of your life-force, which seems to resonate with that of the doppelganger."

Ignitus sighed "Even after death your as aggravating as ever." Volteer gave him a toothy grin. "Anyways; Spyro, it is the destiny of the purple dragon to define the age in which he lives, I believe this battle is that moment in your life, and that you are destined to win."

"Yeah bro!" Sparx said "Ol' Iggy here explained everything to me, I've seen you take on tougher enemies before, I know you can win!" His face grew stern then, "And if you do die, I'll kill you."

Spyro laughed in disbelief. "You'll what?" Sparx just grinned.

Then Cynder drifted forward. "Win Spyro, I know you can." Then she leaned forward and brushed her lips against his, Spyro faintly felt it, like a light breeze. "I love you." She whispered, then all of them faded into the light of the sun.

Spyro closed his eyes and focused his thoughts. He calmed himself ad allowed his anger to drift away, but not his fury. No, he had something else in mind for that. Spyro then opened his eyes and breathed deeply. His mind no longer consumed by pain, he tried to find a plan, and after a moment tucked in his wings and dove.

After a minute he reached the same elevation as the Dark Dragon and flared his wings, coming to a hover before it.

"Oh!" the Dark Dragon exclaimed. "And for a moment I actually thought you had been killed."

"No." Spyro said in a level voice. "I'm right here."

"Eh? You don't sound angry anymore? Oh don't tell me, you've accepted your inevitable death?"

Spyro cocked his head to the side. "Maybe, maybe not, come find out."

The Dark Dragons cocky demeanor vanished at the taunt. "I will then. It wont take much to finish you. I know! I'll kill you the same way I killed Cynder!" Then it flapped its wings and flew towards Spyro, its body twisted so that it could turn and stab Spyro with hits tail. Spyro just hovered there, waiting.

When it got close enough, it saw Spyro open his eyes, which glowed white as tongues of flame whipped around him. The Dark Dragon managed to say "Aww…" Before Spyro unleashed his fire fury.

Like a volcano, huge globs of white fire spewed upwards from Spyro, raining down onto the ground below and creating huge explosions and fireballs. The dark Dragon managed to dodge some, but not all of them. After the first one exploded against him he was stunned and couldn't avoid them as another hit him, and another, and another. Then the fire swirled inwards, like a vacuum was drawing it inwards, when it barely touched Spyro, it exploded outwards in a wall of white fire, the Dark Dragon crumbling to ash in an instant.

Spent of all his energy, Spyro hovered there, waiting for what he knew was coming. Sure enough, the ashes liquefied and began to form the black orb. As it did though, Spyro flew forward and ran straight into the blob, sinking inside it like a stone in molten tar.

As he entered the goo, he heard the Dark Dragons voice in his head. _What are you doing?_

_Originally,_ Spyro said. _The purple dragon was a creature of light and dark, but he split himself into two halves. One of light and one of dark. I'm un-doing what that first purple dragon did._

The Dark Dragon laughed. _My mind will remain intact until you die, I will simply take control of your body like the others and separate us again!_

_**Your mind only exists until my life ends. I intend for you to die with me, so I cannot allow you to take my mind.**_ Spyro said

_**Ha! The most you'll be able to hold me off in your state is a few moments at the most.**_

Spyro chuckled. _**A few moments are all I need.**_

Then the darkness began to seep into Spyros scales, eventually being absorbed entirely. His scales were still purple; he was managing to hold the darkness trapped within him, though it fought bitterly, and he was quickly losing his grip.

In the time he had left, he gathered every last ounce of power he had left and tilted his head to the sky. "Cynder, here I come."

The darkness inside him screamed as Spyro unleashed a massive firestorm, large enough to incinerate anything it touched. He unleashed the fire, and focused it all inwards.

The column of fire could be seen for miles as it blasted a hole in the clouds the fire blazed on for a full minute before dying down. To anyone who had gone to see the source, they would find a crater and half a destroyed city, the stone blackened from fire. In fact there was one witness to the struggle that took place there, a Cheetah ranger with a falcon on his shoulder. After recovering from the shock Hunter returned to his village and proceeded to tell the story of what he had seen. The story of how the former terror of the skies, the white dragon Cynder and the purple Dragon Spyro gave their lives to save the world a second time quickly spread from Tall Plains to Dantes Freezer.

For generations after, people would gather around the fireplace after a hard days work and recall the Legend of Spyro.

00000

Four years later, in a secluded, safe place an old wizened ice dragon, one of the last surviving people who had known the legendary heroes sat on a cushion and watched the sun rise. This was the day, the first day of the Year of the Dragon. Not long after Cyril thought this to himself he heard a tapping from beside him, he turned to the egg, its cracked shell swirled with black and purple and smiled.

"If your parents were here, they would be exited no doubt. You have big shoes to fill little one." As if it could hear him, a peep came from the egg.

Cyril turned back to the sky, no it wouldn't be long now.

00000

Some stories are larger than life, some stories touch your heart and become a piece of you forever. Some stories have a happily ever after, others do not.

And sometimes, the ending has not yet been written.


End file.
